Colin Allan

Sir Colin Hamilton Allan KCMG OBE (23 October 1921 – 5 March 1993) was a New Zealander who spent most of his professional life in the British administration of their overseas territories. He was the last Governor of the Solomon Islands from 1976 to 1978, prior to their independence.

Allan was born in Wellington on 23 October 1921. He was the son of John Calder Allan and Mabel Eastwood.

He was educated at the Cambridge Primary School and Hamilton High School. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Canterbury University College in 1943 and then graduated Master of Arts in 1945. He also obtained a Diploma in Anthropology from Magdalene College, Cambridge.

During World War II he was a naval officer in Wellington in 1942, transferred to the New Zealand Signals the same year and was in the Army Education Service until 1944 where he held the rank of lance corporal. In 1945 he was posted to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force where he served as a lieutenant until 1946.

He married Betty Evans in 1955. They had three sons. Timothy, Johnathan, Christopher

Towards the end of the Second World War the British Colonial Service had a vast number of vacancies in its 50 dependent territories around the world. Restoration of basic civilian administration was a priority for the Service, particularly in those countries that had been invaded. Because of the shortage of suitable staff, the Service appointed some colonials, including Allan.

Solomon Islands

The post-war period was a particularly difficult one for the Service, with various independence movements springing up around the globe. In the British Solomon Islands Protectorate where Allan was appointed as Administrative Officer (Cadet) in 1945, the Marching Rule was one such movement.

He was appointed as District Officer on Nggela (1945), Western Solomons (1946), Ysabel and Choiseul (1948), and Malaita in 1949. From 1947 to 1948 he was District Commissioner for Western Solomons. He became District Commissioner for Malaita in 1952. From 1953 to 1954 he was Special Lands Commissioner. By 1954 Allan had organised the first Council of Malaita for the local population. This effectively ended the influence of the Marching Rule.

From 1954 to 1955 Allan was attached to the Western Pacific High Commission's Secretariat (Finance and Development). He became Senior Assistant Secretary in 1955. Appointed to the Special Lands Commission from 1956 to 1957, member and Secretary BSIP Agriculture and Industry Loans Board (1956-1957), Secretary for Protectorate Affairs (1957-1958), Chairman BSIP Copra Marketing Board (1957-1958), and UK member of the South Pacific Commission Research Council (1958).

In 1957 he wrote a book called Customary Land Tenure in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate in which he outlined the native land ownership.

Vanuatu

Allan was Assistant British Resident Commissioner to the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) from 1959 to 1966 and British Resident Commissioner from 1966 to 1973. Allan's residence was on Iririki by Port Vila.

Seychelles

In 1973 Allan was appointed Governor of the Seychelles, a post he held till 1 October 1975 when he was appointed High Commissioner from 1 October 1975 to 28 June 1976, when the Seychelles became an independent republic.

Return to the Solomons

Allan was appointed Governor of the Solomon Islands from 1976 to 1978. His appointment ended when the Solomons gained their independence in 1978.

When he retired the Australian National University and the Universities of Auckland, Otago and New South Wales all invited him as a visiting lecturer or fellow.

Allan was awarded the OBE in 1959, the CMG in 1968, and KCMG in 1977. He was also awarded the French Commander l'Ordre National du Merité.

He died on 5 March 1993 at Howick, Auckland.

• Solomons safari 1953–58, Christchurch, Nag's Head Press (1990)