By T.W. Jenkins
Painting of HMS Beagle in Tahiti hung in All Saints Church
Admiral Robert Fitzroy is buried in the churchyard of All Saints Church, Upper Norwood, in South London. On the headstone of his grave are biographical details, plus those of his wife and three quotations from the Bible, but no mention of the fact that he was Captain of the brigantine “The Beagle” during its voyage round the South American coast and the Galapagos Islands with Charles Darwin who became the ship’s naturalist which resulted in the publication of “The Origin of the Species”, a book which changed history and scientific thought. Neither is there mention that he was Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of New Zealand, a post important enough, one would think, to be proud of. Strange omissions.
At the foot of the grave is another stone recording that he was first Head of the Meteorological Office and devised the system of weather forecasts and storm warning which were the prototypes of the present day systems. He also published his “Weather Book” and the barometer he invented is also shown on the stone, for all of which seafarers can give him thanks. Obviously, both he and his family were proud enough of these achievements to have them commemorated but why were others omitted?
Perhaps, part of the answer may lie in the fact that more attention has been paid to Darwin’s achievements. Fitzroy himself had recruited Darwin and they became friends, Darwin visiting Fitzroy at his home at 140 Church Road, Upper Norwood.
The theological implications of Darwin’s theory that the entire animal kingdom had evolved over time from one primitive form of life is contrary to the Bible’s creation story. Fitzroy was a Christian of a somewhat orthodox and literal persuasion (he believed, for example, that the Mastodon had become extinct because it was too big to get into the Ark), and it is no wonder that he did not want to underwrite Darwin’s theory or give it a permanent place on his memorial by mentioning his own captaincy of “The Beagle”.
Fitzroy was an explorer before he met Darwin. He had helped to chart the southern seas and map such places as Tierra del Fuego on a previous voyage in 1830, bringing back not only Fuegian Indians but seeds and plants for collectors and propagation purposes. He gave his name to the rare conifer “Fitzroya Cupressoides” which can live for thousands of years. It was on the return journey to South America that Darwin accompanied him.
While Darwin’s “The Voyage of the Beagle” is read and remembered, it is not well-known that this was a three volume work, the first two books of which were written by Fitzroy. His work as a surveyor was such that it was referred to in the House of Commons as “the splendid survey of Captain Robert Fitzroy”. In 1837 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society.
In 1843 he was appointed first Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of New Zealand, a position which had many difficulties – for he arrived at a time when there was considerable friction over land claims. The settlers expected Fitzroy to support them. He was a highly-principled man and contended that the Maoris’ claims were as valid as the settlers. This did not make valid made him popular with the natives.
He fell out, with the New Zealand Company over financial policy and eventually, in 1845, after much agitation by the settlers and the Company, he was recalled. This could account for the omission of such a prestigious position from his tombstone.
He had a continuing interest in the welfare of sailors and all things nautical and became Secretary of the Lifeboat Association, for which he worked assiduously.
Fitzroy was a manic-depressive, suffering all his life from bouts of melancholia and given to outbursts of ferocious temper. On April 30th 1865 he committed suicide. It is a strange coincidence that a predecessor on “The Beagle”, Commander Stokes, had also taken his own life.
Fitzroy is recorded on his grave as “hydrographer and meteorologist”, and rightly so. Over the years the tomb had become dilapidated but in June 1997 it was restored and a Service of Commemoration was held at All Saints Church, paying tribute to Fitzroy’s achievements. A plaque has also been placed on his nearby home which, unlike his tombstone, records that he was “Explorer and pioneer of weather forecasting. Captain of H.M.S. Beagle that took Darwin to the Galapagos Islands”. How would he have responded to this last tribute, I wonder? I’m sure having a shipping area named after him which is heard regularly by thousands of mariners and contributes to their safety, would please him no end.
(From Palace Mag May 07)
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