They had to journey from York to the Red River Settlement, which they arrived at on 3 November. Lord Selkirk appointed Semple to be the governor of the territories owned by the Hudson's Bay Company. He controlled the land known as the Forks which consisted of Fort Douglas, Fort Gibraltar, and Seven Oaks. The committee meeting held, resolved to appoint Semple. However, there was no information provided in the minutes from the meeting as to why Semple was chosen for the position. He was not proven to be qualified for the position of governor. Colin Robertson Colin Robertson, was a member of the Hudson's Bay Company who helped rebuild the Red River Settlement prior to Semple's arrival. The two men had a complicated relationship. as Semple wanted to prove himself as master through his powerful decisions. Meanwhile, Robertson did not approve of many of the decisions that Semple was making. His disapproval led Robertson to leave the Settlement on 11 June 1816 and he intended to return to England. After Semple began achieving success and support, Robertson asked to return to the settlement, which Semple rejected. Semple as Governor Semple did many things in the first few years of being governor. During his first December at the settlement, he went to Fort Daer (Pembina, N.Dak) and visited settlers who had moved there for the winter due to a shortage of food. He then continued and visited all of the different posts on the upper Assiniboine and Qu'Appelle rivers that belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company. When he returned, Semple began to attack his neighbours, the North West Company and the Metis. Semple encouraged his colonists to settle on farms two miles down the river from Red River and he blocked the rivers at The Forks. Controversy arose at the Red River settlement when on the tenth of June, 1816 Semple decided to attack and dismantle Fort Gibraltar, the Fort owned by the North West Company. After seizing the fort, Semple took all of the usable belongings and shipped them to Fort Douglas. Everything that was left he burned so that it could not be rebuilt by the North West Company. Colin Robertson disagreed with what Semple was doing and his means to prove a point. This was when Robertson decided that he would no longer support Semple as the governor and left the settlement. Semple's actions played a large role