Robert FitzRoy was born in Suffolk in 1805. He entered the navy in 1819 and commanded HMS Beagle on Darwin's famous voyage.
He visited the Bay of Islands in the ship in 1835 and reported favourably to a House of Lords committee on the work of the missionaries. He took up his appointment as Governor in 1843 but was recalled after agitation led by the New Zealand Company.
FitzRoy retired from the navy in 1850 and devoted himself to science. He performed pioneering work as chief of the new Meteorological Service.
He was made Rear Admiral in 1857 and Vice Admiral in 1863. He died in 1865.
Biographical information courtesy of NZ Almanack
Read Governor FitzRoy's biography on The Dictonary of New Zealand Biography