William Orfeur Cavenagh

Major General Sir Orfeur Cavenagh KCSI (1820–1891) was the last India-appointed Governor of the Straits Settlements, who governed the Straits Settlements from 1859 to 1867.

Singapore's Cavenagh Bridge is named in honour of the governor. The coat of arms of the Cavenagh family can still be seen atop the signage at both ends of the bridge.

He was the third son of James Gordon Cavenagh and Ann née Coates. He married Elizabeth Marshall Moriarty on 7 Sept 1842 at Dinapore, India and died in 1891 leaving two sons.

Cavenagh trained at Addiscombe Military Seminary, the military academy of the British East India Company. He passed his examination in June 1837 and early in 1838 joined the 32nd Regt. N.I. In 1840 he passed the prescribed examination at the College of Fort William. He was appointed as Interpreter and Quartermaster to the 41st Regt. N.I. He was attached to the Force employed in watching the Nepaul frontier 1840/41.

He was an Adjutant of the 4th Irregular Cavalry (Skinner's Horse) and in December 1843 was badly wounded in the Battle of Maharajpore. His leg was severed just above the ankle by a round shot and his horse was killed under him. He was wounded again in January 1846 during the Sikh campaign when he was struck in the left arm by a ricochetting round shot. After this he was appointed as Superintendent of the Mysore Princes and of the ex-Ameers of Sindh. In 1850 he visited England in political charge of the Nepal Embassy. In 1854 he was appointed Town and Fort Major of Calcutta. In this role he was responsible to the Governor-General, the Marquess of Dalhousie followed by Lord Canning, for the safety of Fort William during the time of the Indian Mutiny.

In a Royal Charter of 1826, Singapore, Malacca and Penang were combined to form the Straits Settlements. The Governor of the Settlements and his council were answerable to the Governor-General of India in Calcutta. The Governor had little formal power, but was able to influence the Calcutta authorities who relied largely on the recommendations of these representatives on legislation and policy in each settlement. Control passed from Bengal to the Colonial Office in London on 1 April 1867 and the Settlements became a crown colony. Cavenagh was the last Governor who reported to the Governor-General in Calcutta. His successor, Sir Harry Ord reported to the Colonial Office in London.