William Wilson

William Barbour Wilson (2 April 1819 – 8 November 1897), also known as Cabbage Wilson, was the first Mayor of Christchurch in New Zealand in 1868. A nurseryman by profession, he had large landholdings in Christchurch. His reputation was dented by a fraud conviction, and when he was subsequently elected onto the city council once more, five councillors resigned in protest. Early life Wilson was born in Castle Douglas in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was the eldest child of Jane Thomson and her husband, William Wilson. He arrived in New Zealand in August 1850 at Port Chalmers on the ship Mariner, and travelled to Nelson, Wellington and Auckland before arriving in Lyttelton in late July 1851. The Mariner left London on 7 April 1850 and arrived at Port Chalmers on 6 August 1850. He married Elizabeth Williams on 19 November 1856; she was 20 at the time of their wedding, 17 years his junior. His wife was the daughter of John and Isabella Williams, who arrived in Lyttelton with their seven children in December 1850 on one of the First Four Ships, the Randolph. John Williams was found dead four days after arrival, having possibly died from heat exhaustion. Her mother Isabella worked as a draper and had a shop on Colombo Street, Christchurch. The Wilsons had 13 or 14 children, and Isabella Williams would later testify that he began beating her by the time she was pregnant the second time: "He beat me black and blue." Their oldest son was William John (born ca. 1856), and their second son was Charles James. Professional life In Scotland, Wilson was an apprentice as a nurseryman and worked as an overseer on estates.