Alfred Waddington

Who was Alfred Waddington?

Alfred Penderell Waddington was born in 1801 in the Brompton, Kensington, district of London, England. During his later years, Waddington was actively involved in the Colony of Vancouver Island in what later became the province of British Columbia, Canada.

From 1860 to 1861 he was a representative of the Victoria District in the House of Assembly of the Colony of Vancouver Island. He was also the first colonial Superintendent of Education from 1865 to 1867 and was an advocate of free public education.

Waddington is also remembered for planning the ill-fated Waddington's Road at Bute Inlet. The road was intended to be a shorter route to the Cariboo Gold Rush goldfields and was intended to run from the Pacific Coast via Bute Inlet to Fort Alexandria, but instead resulted in the tragedy of the Chilcotin War.