The land was almost certainly Crown property and, as such no Governor would have the right to give it away (although he could, of course, recommend that the Crown should do so). It's far more likely that he only ceded the right to use the land, with the Crown retaining ownership.
RoS should be able to tell you who actually owns the land (in return for a small search fee):
http://www.ros.gov.uk...c/services/index.html
Chris