Harry Ord

Sir Harry St George Ord (17 June 1819 – 20 August 1885) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Bermuda between 1861 and 1864, Governor of the Straits Settlements between 1867 and 1873, and Governor of Western Australia between 1877 and 1880.

Education and career Ord was the son of Henry Gough Ord and grandson of Craven Ord (1756–1832) of Greenstead Hall, Essex, a prominent antiquarian. He was educated at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, (1835–1837). He served in the Royal Engineers, (1837–1856), principally in the West Indies, West Africa, and the Anglo-French expedition to the Baltic (1854), during the Crimean War.

Ord later held many important colonial posts, including: Commissioner of the Gold Coast (1855–1856) Commissioner at the Courts of Paris and The Hague (1856–1857) Governor of Dominica (1857–1861) Governor of Bermuda (1861–1864) Special Commissioner to West Africa (1864–1867) Governor of the Straits Settlements (1867–1873) Governor of Western Australia (1877–1880)

Governor of Straits Settlements

Ord, whom the second Colonial Office appointed in 1867 as the Governor of the Straits Settlements, was at first given no instructions regarding the Colony's relations with the Malay States. His appointment did not start well; he would arrive at the Settlements two weeks before his term began, and by the time he was inaugurated, had managed to offend almost everyone in the capital including Chief Justice Designate Peter Benson Maxwell with his crusty demeanor and insistence on being referred to as 'Excellency'. He was unpopular in the Straits Settlements, but was an ambitious and energetic man, who was ready to do what he could to restore order and promote trade in the Peninsula. Conditions in Malaya at that time were extremely unsettled. Within months of his arrival, representatives of the leading firms had formed the Straits Settlement Association under the leadership of John Crawfurd, which vigorously opposed any increase in government power and would bombard his administration with numerous petitions to the House of Lords criticising many of his policies.

Awards K.C.M.G., 1877 G.C.M.G., 1881