William Bloomfield Douglas
William Bloomfield Douglas, generally known as Bloomfield Douglas or Captain Douglas, was a Welsh naval officer and public servant. During his career, he served in various positions in South Australia, including Government Resident of the Northern Territory, the Straits Settlements, including Acting Resident of Selangor, and Canada.
Early life
Douglas was born on 25 September 1822 in the Welsh town of Aberystwyth. His parents were Richard William Clode Douglas and Mary née Johnson.At the age of 19, Douglas joined the Royal Navy, serving as captain's steward aboard HMS Wolverine. He resigned from military service after 8 months, in September 1842, to become master of The Royalist and join his distant relation rajah James Brooke fighting pirates around Sarawak. He then joined the East India Company from 1844–1847. After this, he went back to England for five years and worked as a coastguard in Northumberland, he was in temporary command of HMRC Eagle c.1847-50; before returning to sea again.
Career
Naval officer and harbourmaster
In December 1854, Douglas took up the post of naval officer and harbourmaster in Adelaide, South Australia, having arrived there on the merchant ship Bosphorus. From July 1858, his responsibilities expanded to include Collector of Customs. During this time, he was also Master of Trinity House and chairman of the Harbour Trust. When, in 1860, these various posts were absorbed into a newly established Marine Board, Douglas was appointed its first president.Between 1855 and 1858, Douglas also participated in official inquiries concerning lighthouses, harbours and defences in South Australia. In addition, he was responsible for surveying Kangaroo Island, the Backstairs Passage and the mouth of the Murray River. George de Mole was his draughtsman.
In 1865 he was severely chastised by marine surveyor David MacLeod for planning a lighthouse to be erected on a submerged rock at great cost, when an exposed eminence was available nearby.
Outside of his maritime activities, Douglas spent time as a stipendary magistrate, a member of the Immigration Board and an Inspector of Distilleries.
Government Resident
On 27 April 1870, Douglas was appointed by the South Australian government as Government Resident of the Northern Territory. Douglas had applied for the position unsuccessfully on two previous occasions, and politician John Hart, who helped him finally secure the job, was not convinced that Douglas was making a wise decision, commenting in his diary: "What a fool the man is".Douglas had previously shown a weakness in the handling of money, and in his new position he was often responsible for extravagant spending, beginning with the construction of a large Residency which was often used to entertain guests using public money. He also encouraged a gold rush. His tendency to drink excessively became the subject of increasing concern, especially during certain incidents in 1873. In February of that year, for example, he was found in an inebriated state on the roof of his residency, threatening police officers with a gun. Attempts to introduce order into his administration were in vain, and he was made to resign in June at the request of commissioner Thomas Reynolds.
His daughter Harriet Douglas Daly travelled with him to Palmerston and wrote about her life there and her father's work in the book Digging, squatting and pioneering life in the Northern Territory of South Australia.