Dominick Daly

Sir Dominick Daly (11 August 1798 – 19 February 1868) was a British colonial public servant and administrator during the 19th century, who held positions in British North America, Tobago and South Australia.

Born in Ireland to a well-connected family, he obtained the position of private secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Lower Canada in 1822. He eventually became the provincial secretary of Lower Canada, a member of the Special Council which governed Lower Canada following the Lower Canada Rebellion, and a member of the Legislative Assembly and provincial secretary of the Province of Canada. For a brief time in 1843, he was the sole member of the Executive Council of the Province of Canada. He then became part of a three-man council, advising the Governor General, Sir Charles Metcalfe. His decision to remain in office angered the Reform members of the Assembly, leading to him fighting a duel with one Reform member. He was dismissed from office when the Reformers were returned to power under Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin in 1848.

After losing office in Canada in 1848, Daly served on a royal commission in England concerning the New Forest and Waltham Forest. He then served as the Governor of Tobago from 1851 to 1852, followed by appointment as Governor of Prince Edward Island from 1854 to 1859. In 1862 he was appointed Governor of South Australia, an office he held until his sudden death on 19 February 1868 in Adelaide, South Australia.

Daly combined an aptitude for public affairs and diligence in his work, along with personal charm and affability. In Canada, he acquired the nickname of "the perpetual secretary", in light of his holding various administrative offices for twenty-five years.