Naval officer and harbourmaster In December 1854, Douglas took up the post of naval officer and harbourmaster in
Adelaide, South Australia, having arrived there on the merchant ship
Bosphorus. From July 1858, his responsibilities expanded to include Collector of Customs. During this time, he was also Master of Trinity House and chairman of the Harbour Trust. When, in 1860, these various posts were absorbed into a newly established Marine Board, Douglas was appointed its first president. Outside of his maritime activities, Douglas spent time as a
stipendary magistrate, a member of the Immigration Board and an Inspector of Distilleries. Douglas had applied for the position unsuccessfully on two previous occasions, and politician
John Hart, who helped him finally secure the job, was not convinced that Douglas was making a wise decision, commenting in his diary: "What a fool the man is". Douglas had previously shown a weakness in the handling of money, and in his new position he was often responsible for extravagant spending, beginning with the construction of a large Residency which was often used to entertain guests using public money. He also encouraged a
gold rush. His tendency to drink excessively became the subject of increasing concern, especially during certain incidents in 1873. In February of that year, for example, he was found in an inebriated state on the roof of his residency, threatening police officers with a gun. Attempts to introduce order into his administration were in vain, and he was made to resign in June at the request of commissioner Thomas Reynolds.
Singapore and Selangor In April 1874, the South Australian government gave Douglas a new task: to travel to
Singapore to recruit gold miners for the Northern Territory. He moved his headquarters to
Kuala Lumpur in an attempt to remedy the situation, but was asked to resign in 1882 after further issues came to light.
Later life In 1893 Douglas moved to Canada, where he worked for the
Department of Marine and Fisheries, first in the tidal service and later as an examiner. When applying for this latter job, he lied about his age, claiming he was only 65 when he was in fact 74. Between 1900 and 1903, he worked in
Halifax as a departmental inspector, before becoming an examiner again. He remained in this position until his death on 5 March 1906. ==Personal life==