William Soltau Davidson

William Soltau Davidson (15 June 1846 – 17 July 1924) was the New Zealand pioneer of refrigerated shipping. Early life Son of Frances Pillans and bank manager David Davidson, William Davidson was born in Montreal, Canada. He attended the Edinburgh Academy, (his father having become Edinburgh manager of the Bank of Scotland), before taking a position book keeping in Glasgow. Davidson was planning to work on a ranch in Argentina, when, while travelling by train, met Canterbury and Otago Association shareholder James Morton. On the strength of their conversation during the journey, Morton hired William Davidson as a cadet - and persuaded his father to invest £10,000. Sheep farming in New Zealand William Davidson arrived in Port Chalmers on 30 December 1865 in the ship Celaeno. He was sent to the company's 600 km2 farm at Timaru where he spent 2 years as a shepherd under James Hassell, being responsible for the 85,000 Merino sheep. By the end of the two years, Davidson was overseeing 15 Scottish shepherds, and had helped survey and fence much of the previously open land. Using £150,000 borrowed from the company, he purchased more land., increasing holdings to 2,000 km2. He also assisted James Little in his experiments to cross Merinos with Lincoln Stud rams, producing the Corriedale breed. In 1875, he was made superintendent. On a trip back to Edinburgh, Davidson married Jane Emily Davidson, daughter of the sheriff of Midlothian, in October 1873.