ONE OF Our Pioneers

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 39, 23 December 1893, Page 10

ONE OF Our Pioneers

After pcla xmg his part mjymilly|in the battle oic life, Mr Jnmm Wil#n, the of tins ■passin£sne days serene age at Wa&niwa, wi£h winch he hh s hpefi froria Ci-e'Deginning rkh-Miis Colonial cfse£ri , -Qy Mr Wilson Scotland, as his birthplace. He was born on the I6th of March. 1814, 4o a conwtry-'•residence •earlier-4han he can remember. He shared in the education given in the schools of that time, and engaged at an early age in farming pursuits. These he followed till 1889, when he entered the Wallacetown Academy (then under the rectorship of the late -William Watson) for the purpose of improving himself in several branches. Fond of study, and gifted with industry and perseverance, he turned his opportunities to good account, and on lea.ving carried with him a very favourable report from the principal. Early in 1841 Mr Wilson decided to emigrate to Sydney, and obtained an engagement as an agricultural overseer. ' in June of the same yeanf and started for his destination, He trudged on day af tef day, and on the way learned hontWo boil the billy and make a danger’, so that-' when he reached his’’* journey's end he could show the"“ new chums ” how to make their W.wn bread after the most approved bush, fashion. >' '^D’urslt§ M ‘th i i* v flist fen years of his colonial experience he was chiefly engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits, and part of the time was superintendent of the estate of Mr David Johnstone, of George’s Hall, whose father had been Lieut-Gover-nor of the colony in 1808-9, and whose mother, at that time still living, was the first white woman who set foot on Australian soil. “ When,” continued Mr Wilson, ‘‘the gold discovery took place in 1851 I rushed with others to make my fortune, but was not a lucky digger. People were greatly excited, and the first question with which an old acquaintance greeted me on the diggings was—“ Is everybody mad P” The query was excusable. I continued on the goldfields till 1856, when the late Mr John Robertson, of Waianiwa, and myself determined to give up the uncertain contingencies of digging and go to Hew Zealand. “We left Sydney in the brig Thomas and Henry, owned by the late John Jones of Otago, and commanded by Capt. Thomson, afterwards harbour-master for many years at Port Chalmers. The late Captain A. J. Elies was also a passenger, being under engagement to the General Government as.-Customs officer, etc., for the >Sonth.' “ W at Port Chalmers on Sunday, 16th March, 1856, and went with Captain Thomson to see Mr Peter Dalrymple, who was camped in a tent on the braes above the Port. ,

Mr Robertson and I started soon after for the South, riding two horses which I had brought with me from Sydney ; and, after some rough travelling over the county, I -decided to settle at Waianiwa. Returning to Dunedin, I made application for the land on the north side of Waianiwa Bush, and also applied on behalf of three or four other settlers. The first residence I built was of logs cut with an axe from the bush in June, 1856, and a photograph was taken of it ai'te; more than thirty years exposure to the wind and weather. I brought my belongings round from Dunedin in the schooner Star, Captain Blackie, and we were six weeks coming from there to the New River as far as the mouth of the Waildwi. From there Mr J. G-. Hughes boated us to the junction of the Makarewa and Oreti livers, and we then swagged it to the Waianiwa.” Mr Wilson threw himself with characteristic energy into the work that lay to his hand, and devoted a o-ood deal of time and attention to the duties of set tiers hip. From, the first he took an active interest in the question of education, find was chairman for thirty years continuously of the Waianiwa public school, the first county school in Southland, and he was also secretary and treasurer for most of that time —a record that is probably unique in the history of the colony. Shortly after his arrival the members of the small community became ambitious —they | longed to set up house, governmeiitally and politically, for themselves. “ Separation !” was the rallying cry, and in 1861 those who raised it enjoyed what Burns calls “ the glorious privilege of being independent.” Southland was separated from Otago, established as a province, and i!t inhabitants found themselves in possession of a Council composed of the following members'—lnvercargill : Messrs Robert Stuart (Speaker), Nathanael Chalmers, and Wm. Francis Tarlton. Waihopai; Messrs John C. McKay, James Wilson, and Walter Henry Pearson. Matanra: James Alexander Robertson Menzies (first Superintendent). Campbelltown : Mr Alexander McNab (Chairman of Committees). New River: Messrs Freeman R, Jackson and Matthew Scott. Riverton : Mr Henry McCulloch. The meetings of the Council were held for a time in the old courthouse (which made way some years ago for the Colonial Bank ) and afterwards in the Mechanics’ Institute in Conon street, from which a Milting was made to the building in Kelvin street now known as the municipal hall, where the deliberations were conducted till Southland’s identity was again merged in that of Otago. Mr Robert Stuart (of Edendale station) was the first Speaker, and afterwards did good service as Mayor of Napier. His successor was Mr A. McNab, who was followed by Mr Wilson, by whom the position was hold for a number of years. The experiment was watched with a good dea I of interest, not unmingled with anxiety, many fearing that the province was too young to walk alone. She kept her feet, however, till 1870, but before that year the walk had, to continue the metaphor, become a stagger. It would take too lung to tell how this undesirable state of things came about. Suffice it to say that in the intervening years some great undertakings were projected and carried out. Mr Davies appeared on the scene with bis wooden railwaynotions ; the Mokomokd jetty, the Bluff line, and other public works wore undertaken. Then financial troubles arose. In its distress the province bad recourse to “ greenbacks,” which were frequently negotiated at a large discount. The province at length reached the end of its tether in the matter of loans, and found the solution of its difficulties in reunion with Otago. During the “ independent ” period many matters of g’reat interest were discussed in the Council, and not a few of the members proved themselves able debaters. As already stated, Mr Wilson presided over the Council

during the latter pafct of its existence, but he also hel<<l. other responsible offices, having been respectively Provincial Treasure^' and DeputySuperintendent. Twenty-four sessions of the Councipt-were held, and it is worthy of note tifat Mr Wilson was the only memberfwho held a seat in each of the Councils successively elected. We cannot e|osc this part of his career better thah-by giving a list of the members of the last Council, which met in 186ffi w:.th the explanation tint many worthy citizens—some of whom are still in : our midst, hale and hearty —whose nhmes do not appear, took part in ttie work of some of the intermediate fCouucils. The following, then, arq ? the names of Southland’s last P.fc.s Invercargill : J. A. R. Menziefs, W. H; Calder, G. Lumsden, and Gf. fWebster. Oreti: A. McNeill. Aparinjia : C. Basstian, and E. Gillow. Campbelltown : W. Wood. Waianiwa j: W. A. Lyon. Waihopai: J. Wilson and W. Johnston. Roslyn : A.? Kinross and P. Dalrymple. Riverton :L. McGillivray and J. Fetched. Longwood ; Theo. Daniel. Waikiwi; A. Toshach. Oteramika ;G. |M. Bell. W ai.au :"W . Stevart. New River : J. M. McClure. | After the reunion of Southland with Otago Mr Wilson sat in the united Council, and did good service for his district. At a later period —1876, if we remember rightly—he was a candidate forjhe Parliamentary representation of the old Riverton seat, but retired during the contest in favour of Dr )Hodgkinson. For the last few yearsj he has not taken any active part in; public affairs, and no one will deny that he well deserves the repose he nowhnjoys. In private life he is known as a man of a deeply religious pharcter, the bent of his mind, while broad and liberal in his views, being earnest and reverential. All ffiis life temperate in everything, he has been for the last forty years a practical, although unpledged, abstainer. Naturally of a studious habit, he has been a voluminous reader, and has also brought his pen: into requisition at times with good effect, dealing, both in poetry and prose, with a wide range of subjects. He continues, despite the weight of years, to take a keen interest in; the political movements of the time, and is able, even in the comparative ‘seclusion in which he lives, to criticise the utterances of our leading men to some purpose. Compared with the past, what a changed world it is that he now gazes upon “through the loopholes of retreat!” The contrast between his “ then ” and “ novy ” must be great — “ then ” meaning,? a district minus roads, bridges, and every adjunct of civilisation, with a mere group of settlers; “now’t a country closely settled, with to’wns and villages scattered over its? surface, and with its people in the enjoyment of every advantage, social; and material, that enterprise, puhlip and private, can bestow. j It should be abided that one of Mr Wilson’s daughters is married to Mr W. Ronald of Waianiwa, and another to Mr Finlaysonibf Taringatura.