​Along the exterior of the Legislative Library are 14 statues of individuals who held prominence in the earlier history of the territory now known as British Columbia. One of those statues depicts Sir Anthony Musgrave.
Anthony Musgrave was born on August 31, 1828, in St. John’s, Antigua. From 1864 to 1869, Musgrave served as the Governor of the Colony of Newfoundland. Having unsuccessfully attempted to bring Newfoundland into union with the other colonies of British North America, Musgrave would be appointed with the same mandate in his role as Governor of the United Colony of British Columbia from 1869 to 1871.
As B.C.’s Governor, Musgrave was responsible for tackling the bitter rivalry that existed between the two formerly separate colonies of Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia. He accomplished this challenging task by turning his political attention towards the colony’s union with the Dominion of Canada. Musgrave was an important figure in bringing British Columbia into Confederation with Canada, despite ultimately putting himself out of a job. British Columbia would now be able to elect a Premier to lead the province instead of a Governor. Sir Anthony Musgrave, British Columbia’s last Governor, died on October 9, 1888, in Brisbane, Australia, where he is buried.
