- William Cargill
William Walter Cargill (27 August 1784 – 6 August 1860) was the founder of the
Otago settlement inNew Zealand , after serving as a officer in theBritish Army .Cargill was born in
Edinburgh ,Scotland , in 1784. He joined the British Army in 1802 and served with distinction inIndia ,Spain , andFrance . In 1813, he married Mary Ann Yates, who bore him seventeen children. Of these, two of his five sons became notable in public life: John, who followed in his fathers footsteps and became a politician, and Edward, a prominent businessman. Family circumstances forced him to sell his commission in 1820, though he was later referred to as "Captain Cargill". After leaving the army, he became a wine merchant in Scotland.On 24 November 1847, Cargill sailed for New Zealand on the ship "John Wickliffe", arriving at what is now
Port Chalmers , Otago on 23 March 1848. TheConstitution Act 1852 granted the settler population self-government, and in 1853 Cargill was elected superintendent of theOtago Province . He then served as a Member of Parliament from 1855 until he retired in October 1859.He died of a stroke on 6 August 1860, at his home "Hillside" in Dunedin, and is buried in Dunedin Southern Cemetery with his wife and three children. [cite web|url=http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries_and_crematorium/cemeteries_search?recordid=92869&type=Burial|title=Cemetery Details|publisher=Dunedin City Council|accessdate=2008-10-06]
Legacy
The city
Invercargill bears his name: "Inver" comes from theScots Gaelic word "inbhir" meaning "a river's mouth".References
External links
* [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/C/CargillWilliam/CargillWilliam/en Cargill, William] 1966 Encyclopædia of New Zealand entry on William Cargill
* [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1C4 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography entry for William Cargill]
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