Henry George Thomsett

Henry George Thomsett CMG (1825-1892) was a British Royal Navy officer and Harbour Master of Hong Kong.

Early life

Thomsett was born in Dover, Kent in 1825 and joined the Royal Navy in 1840 as an officer in the navigation branch, by 1854 he was the commander of the HMS Princess Charlotte stationed in Hong Kong.[1] He retired from the Royal Navy in 1870.[2]

Hong Kong

He was the Harbour Master of Hong Kong from 1861 to 1888. During his service, he recommended Cape D'Aguilar, Green Island and Cape Collinson to be the sites for lighthouses, as lighthouses in these places would cover the eastern and western entrances to Hong Kong. Construction work started immediately on Cape D'Aguilar Lighthouse.[3]

In 1873, he was appointed to the commission to enquiry and investigate the blockade of Hong Kong harbour by the Chinese Maritime Customs along with Phineas Ryrie, member of the Legislative Council and Malcolm Struan Tonnochy, Acting Registrar General by Governor Arthur Kennedy.[4] He was also the emigration officer in about 1874 to 1875.[5]

In 1887 he was made a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council.[6] For his services in Hong Kong he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George.[2]

Family life

Thomsett married Susannah Agnes Cunningham in 1855 in Portsea district of Portsmouth. Thomsett died on 24 January 1892 at Shirley near Southampton, England.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "THE STATIONS OF THE ROYAL NAVY IN 1860". History in Portsmouth.
  2. 1 2 3 "Obituary." Times [London, England] 28 Jan. 1892: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 9 Aug. 2014.
  3. ↑ "Cape D'Aguilar Lighthouse gazetted as historical building". Leisure and Cultural Services Department. 30 December 2005.
  4. ↑ Extract form Hongkong Government Gazette of 3rd January 1874. p. 65.
  5. ↑ "Letters to local correspondents". Jardine Matheson Archive.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 25748. p. 5598. 18 October 1887. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
Government offices
Preceded by
Andrew Lysaght Inglis		 Harbour Master of Hong Kong
1861–1888 		Succeeded by
Robert Murray Rumsey
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