Charles Whybrow Ligar

Charles Whybrow Ligar (1809[1] [2] or 1811[3] – February 1881) was a British army officer, Surveyor General of New Zealand and Surveyor General of Victoria, (then a colony, now a state of Australia).[3]

Early life

Ligar was born in Ceylon, (now Sri Lanka) where his father was stationed. Charles Ligar was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst from the age of 13. Reputedly commissioned in the Royal Engineers, Ligar resigned to join the British Ordnance Survey.[3] Ligar married in 1839 Grace, daughter of Thomas Hanyngton, of Dungannon, Tyrone, and granddaughter of the Earl of Charlemont. Ligar was employed on the Ordnance Survey of Ireland until 1840.[1]

Career in New Zealand

Ligar was appointed Surveyor General of New Zealand by Lord John Russell and after being shipwrecked at the Cape of Good Hope[1] arrived in Wellington, New Zealand on 8 December 1841.[3] He was also land titles commissioner in the late 1840s.[3] Ligar purchased a vast quantity of land from the Maoris for the European settlers, and was appointed colonel and commandant of the New Zealand Militia, in which capacity he took part in the war at the Bay of Islands.[1] Ligar resigned as Surveyor General in 1856,[1] and went to Otago, unsuccessfully seeking to become the provincial surveyor.[3] He discovered gold in the Mataura River while searching for grazing land.[3]

Career in Australia

Ligar was appointed Surveyor General of Victoria in 1858 (replacing Clement Hodgkinson), promising to reduce survey costs and open the land for settlers. Ligar initially proposed to replace all government surveyors with contractors, a move that was not popular. One great saving implemented at this time was by the implementation of photolithographic copying of plans, a process developed "in-house" by J. W. Osborne.[4] By 1869, leading politicians were demanding his removal and Ligar resigned in September.[3] His replacement as Surveyor General was Alexander John Skene. In 1869 Ligar married Marie, daughter of the late Captain Williams, of Auckland, N.Z.[1]

Late life

Ligar retired initially to Europe, then took up ranching in Texas. He died there in February 1881 and was buried at Willow Springs, Parker County, Texas.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mennell, Philip (1892). "Wikisource link to Ligar, Charles Whybrow". The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co. Wikisource
  2. ↑ "Monday, February 14, 1881.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. p. 4. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Powell, J. M. (1974). "Ligar, Charles Whybrow (1811–1881)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "An Invention that Revolutionised Printing". The Ballarat Star (14562). Victoria, Australia. 31 December 1902. p. 3. Retrieved 25 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
Preceded by
Felton Mathew		 Surveyor-General of New Zealand
1842–1856 		Succeeded by
Position ceded to
Provinces until 1879
(John Turnbull Thomson from 1879)
Preceded by
Clement Hodgkinson		 Surveyor General of Victoria
1858–1869 		Succeeded by
Alexander John Skene


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