Robert Power (surveyor)

Robert Power (1794 – 15 February 1869) was a British army officer and Surveyor General of Tasmania, (then the colony of Van Diemen's Land, now a state of Australia).

Early life
Power was born in Ireland and joined the Leitrim Militia before volunteering with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot. Power was commissioned lieutenant in the 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot in 1815, then as captain in 1817 in the 20th Regiment of Foot. In 1823 Power resigned from the army, in 1838 he was appointed at the rate of 300 pounds deputy-commissioner of crown lands and forests and deputy surveyor general in the British North American province of New Brunswick.

Career in Australia
In 1840 Power was sent to Van Diemen's Land (later renamed Tasmania), he arrived in Hobart in June 1841. Power was gazetted Surveyor General of Van Diemen's Land in July 1841, replacing the ineffective Edward Boyd. Power introduced a system of land leases which greatly increased revenue as the depression of the preceding years eased. He remained as Surveyor General until 1 July 1857. Power was appointed Serjeant-at-arms of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, in July 1866 he became Usher of the black rod. Power died in Hobart on 15 February 1869.