Sir John Pope Hennessy was an Irish and British politician born in 1834.
Pope Hennessy joined the Colonial Council and as from 1867, he started a long career as Governor in different British colonies namely Labuan (Malaysia), Sierra Leone, Barbados, Hong Kong and Mauritius.
Sir John Pope Hennessy was the 15th British Governor of Mauritius from 1883 to 1889. A major achievement by Pope Hennessy in Mauritius was in one major constitutional reform: that of getting elected members of the local population in the Legislative Council. He believed in the principle ‘Mauritius for Mauritians’.
Another major achievement of Sir Pope Hennessy was the damming up of Mare aux Vacoas, thereby permitting the distribution of pure water in some of the most populous districts of the island.
As far as botany is concerned, Pope Hennessy introduced the Chinese pine ( Pinus sinensis var.massoniana) in Mauritius; a species that he had come across in Hong Kong.
Sir Pope Hennessy also devoted himself to the development of industrial agriculture and encouraged all kinds of secondary plantations, such as the emerging tobacco industry and the reinvigorating of the tea industry.
At a plenary meeting of the Royal Society held at Château du Reduit on 28th January 1889, the Governor Sir John Pope Hennessy served tea to his guests – the tea came from the Gardens of Le Reduit.
In Port Louis, capital of Mauritius, there is both a major street, Pope Hennessy Street, and a statue erected in 1908 in honour of Sir John Pope Hennessy.