When Colonel Richard Moody arrived in Victoria on Christmas Day in 1958, he had already enjoyed a successful career in the British army. Born in Barbados in 1813, he did not waste any time in deciding that a career in the army was the path he should follow. His choice seemed to be the correct one, since before his appointment as the Commandant of the Royal Engineers and Chief Commissioner of Land and Works for British Columbia, he had already served as the Governor of the Falkland Islands and had supervised large engineering projects in the United Kingdom.

Colonel Moody moved himself, his wife, and four children to the British Columbia wilderness. Upon his arrival Moody was sworn in as Governor James Douglas' deputy for the mainland, ready maintain order and settle the lower mainland of British Columbia. Moody was called to do this immediately after his arrival when Ned McGowan's war broke-out. With the assistance of his Royal Engineers and Judge Begbie, Moody calmed this disturbance and set a precedence for his governance over the territory. His next major act was to choose New Westminster as the site for British Columbia's new capital.

Under Moody's supervision the Royal Engineers accomplished numerous feats such as building the first hospital and schools in New Westminster, designed the colony's first postage stamps, starting a mint, and beginning the New Westminster Library. Perhaps Moody's most notable personal achievement during his time in British Columbia was to set aside Vancouver's Stanley Park as a military reserve. He prevented development on the land and secured it for permanent public use.

Moody was successful in his mandate to settle and maintain order on British Columbia's mainland but he was not necessarily well liked personally. Govenor Douglas thought Moody was too extravagant in his expenditures, and Moody blatantly ignored Douglas' calls for strict economy. Moody also alienated Judge Begbie when he dismissed one of Begbie's sketches as the work of an amateur.

When the Royal Engineers were recalled from British Columbia Moody returned to England. He and his family set sail on November 11, 1963, only one of his daughters was destined to return fifty years later. It seems Moody intend to return at some point, since he procured 3,750 acres of land in the lower mainland before his departure. His dreams of retiring in British Columbia ended upon his death in England, on March 31, 1887.