Anyone perusing early parish maps in the Illawarra would have seen the name William Wilson associated with numerous portions of land from town lots to large acreages. Outside the Illawarra the same name appears in Sydney, other parts of the colony, and amongst the first land purchasers in Melbourne.
So who was William Wilson? There is an extensive collection of documents relating to the extended Wilson family,[1] but finding documents or published literature specific to William Wilson has not been particularly fruitful.[2] The late Peter Doyle wrote a short item about William Wilson which was published in the Illawarra Historical Society Bulletin in 1990.[3] Disregarding William’s considerable mercantile and land investments prior to his insolvency in 1842, his role in the establishment of the town of Lismore could reasonably suppose that he may have been deserving of a biography. Although by no means unique in its diversity, his life was certainly interesting – an early life in the Highlands of Scotland, a merchant in Jamaica and Sydney, financial successes and failures and a new life with a young family in what was then a very remote location.
William Wilson was born in Glasgowego, Aberdeen in 1805. His grandfather George Wilson, a merchant, had acquired the property in 1780 and in turn it passed to William’s father Adam Wilson.[4] After receiving an education at King’s College, Aberdeen William spent some time in Jamaica as a merchant.[5]
William Wilson married Jane Riddell Farquharson Cruden at St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh on 15 August 1832.[6] According to his obituary, he and his wife came to the colony on the advice of Mrs Wilson’s [distant] cousin Mr Campbell Drummond Riddell, the then Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales.[7] Mr Riddell was indeed the Colonial Treasurer from 23 August 1830 until 5 June 1856 but the incentive to come to Australia may have had more to do with joining his brother Adam who was already in the colony. The newlyweds arrived at Sydney on 19 May 1833 as passengers on the Westmoreland which was making her maiden voyage to Australia.[8]
The trip may not have been as comfortable as the Wilson’s might have expected. Originally due to sail in September 1832 the ship did not leave until December of that year. A passenger, John Stephen,[9] had attempted to recover money he lost due to the delay and for having his luggage detained by the ship’s captain. Stephen’s affidavit describes the poor conditions, lack of provisions, putrid drinking water and ‘wines that were so deleterious that the surgeon of the vessel had to forbade [sic] their use’.[10]
The Westmoreland was to make three subsequent trips to Australia transporting convicts.
Other Wilson family members in Australia
William was the second of four Wilson brothers to come to New South Wales.
The first of William’s brothers to come to Australia was Adam Wilson who arrived on 1 May 1832 per Sir William Wallace with his wife Martha Theresa (nee Lescher).[11] Adam settled at Barwon Park, a Cook’s River home built by Alexander Brodie Spark. This was originally named ‘Burwan’ and a description appears in an advertisement of 18 June 1845.[12] Adam Wilson was a merchant and land speculator in his own right, and in partnership with his brother William. Adam was also a starch manufacturer and quickly developed his business with 12 convicts assigned to him by 1833. Both William and Adam Wilson had a close association with Alexander Brodie Spark who was also a major purchaser of land in the Illawarra. Spark and the Wilson brothers suffered the consequences of their over speculation when depression hit in the 1840s and all three were declared insolvent
The third Wilson brother to arrive was Thomas Wilson who arrived on the Duchess of Northumberland in April 1838 with his second wife Elizabeth (nee Clarke) and children from both his marriages[13]. The youngest was a boy named William who had been born on the voyage and died at Fairy Meadow in March 1839. Thomas was also a merchant who had been in Norway in the mid 1830s where the first two children with his second wife were born. Thomas was probably the Thomas Wilson active in the mid 1850s selling fish and discussing the Sydney fishery industry.[14]
The eldest brother, George Wilson, arrived in Australia on 15 January 1839 on the barque Tartar with his wife May Agnes (nee Dyce) and six of their children.[15] George’s wife May was a sister of Scottish painter William Dyce. George Wilson had been a successful Advocate in Aberdeen, the proprietor of a distillery in Blackburn and the owner of various properties. From 1830-1832 the sequestrated estates of George Wilson, and sometimes with his brother Thomas, are listed in the Aberdeen press.[16] His two farms at Glasgowego and Little Clinterty,[17] and his town property were sold off in 1831. In 1832 the rest of his household goods were up for auction. By 1835 George and his family had re-located to Canada and then on to Australia just a few years later. The family left Australia in the late 1850s. Their possessions were sold by auction in 1856:
Other family members made their way to Australia in the 1830s. A ‘Miss Wilson’ of the family was also in the colony, present at the laying of the foundation stone of St Peter’s Church at Cook’s River in 1838.[18] William’s sister in law Elizabeth Sadleir Cruden arrived in Sydney on 7 May 1837 as a cabin passenger on the Hope. She went on to marry Henry O’Brien in 1840 as his second wife.
After his arrival William and his wife Jane were living in Fort Street, Sydney, where the first three of their children were born. The eldest child Althea Jane Riddell Wilson was born in December 1833 but died in 1837. Elizabeth Sadleir Cruden Wilson was born in 1836 and William Wilson in 1837.
Wilson Brothers
From around 1835 Adam and William Wilson operated a merchant business in Sydney as Wilson Bros. They leased a wharf and stores from Isaac David Nicholls for £320 per annum.[19] They were also agents for the brig Nimrod which was trading in the Pacific and became the subject of a court case in 1838 which resulted in the court ordering the vessel to be sold.[20] Their wharf was at Cockle Bay and was known as Wilson’s Wharf. Although the term of the lease for the wharf was to be for 10 years they surrendered it on 20 June 1841 to Erskine Majoribanks and Charles Remington Broughton.
By the late 1830s William Wilson had purchased or leased numerous acreages and town lots in the colony and was especially active in acquiring land in the Illawarra which included:
- ‘Illawarra Farm’ – 2200 acres originally granted to David Allen in 1813 which was sold to Richard Jones in 1827 and then to William Charles Wentworth in 1828. Wentworth renamed the land ‘Five Islands Estate’ but when the property was leased to William Wilson in 1837 the name was listed as ‘known as Illawarra Farm’.[21]
- ‘Buckland’s Estate’, 1920 acres promised to John Buckland which he sold to William Wilson for 575 pounds on 23/24 November 1835.[22]
- Connor Boland’s two grants of 60 and 140 acres at at Fairy Meadow.[23]
- Denis O’Brien or Brien’s 60 acre grant at Fairy Meadow.[24]
- Timothy Brophy’s 30 acre grant at Fairy Meadow, sold by Henry Hart and his wife Sarah to William Wilson in 1837.[25]
- Numerous small portions in the town of Wollongong originally part of Charles Throsby Smith’s 300 acre grant.[26]
Balgownie Estate – The purchases by Wilson of the Buckland, Brien, Brophy and Boland grants were combined into an estate advertised for sale in 1839 by Alexander Brodie Spark as the ‘Balgownie Estate’. The complex ownership and transactions relating to this land will be covered in detail in an upcoming article.
Adam Wilson also bought up lots in the town of Wollongong and a 68 acre portion of land at Corrimal which he purchased at a public auction of Crown Lands on 1 June 1837 for a purchase price of 37 pounds 8 shillings.[27] The Wilson’s friend and associate Alexander Brodie Spark purchased extensively in the Illawarra including numerous large acreages in the region and town lots in Wollongong.
Money Troubles
William Wilson had spent freely on land and was constantly in need of cash. His Fort Street property was mortgaged a number of times including twice to his sister in law Elizabeth Sadleir Cruden, the first time being just seven months after she had arrived in the colony.[28] As quickly as other land was purchased it was mortgaged.[29] This flurry of purchasing in the Illawarra quickly stopped. Wilson’s properties in the Illawarra and throughout the colony had been purchased at high prices and many were heavily mortgaged for amounts far beyond their value in the recession years of the 1840s.
By 1838 William and Adam Wilson were in real financial difficulty. Alexander Brodie Spark was heavily involved in the liquidation of the Wilson Brothers assets. In August 1838 Spark, William Wilson and Lesslie Duguid (then managing director of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney) met at the offices of David Chambers (solicitor) to ‘concert measures for the relief of the Wilson Bros but nothing satisfactory was concluded’.[30] Whilst a plan had not been finalised at that meeting a plan was quickly formulated for the Illawarra properties. Alexander Brodie Spark took over William Wilson’s properties and debts in the Illawarra. The properties which were now under the control of Spark comprising of the Buckland, Boland, O’Brien/Brien and Brophy grants were surveyed and advertised in 1839 as the ‘Balgownie Estate’. The sale of 55 farms containing 1950 acres and 62 marine allotments containing 260 acres realised 23,579 pounds.[31] This was not the end of William Wilson’s land ownership in the Illawarra as he was a major purchaser of lots at the sale. More information on this will be available in the upcoming article on the Balgownie Estate.
William Wilson living in the Illawarra
William Wilson and his family were residents of the Illawarra for only a short time. At the time of the census on 13 March 1841 the family were living in a completed wood and brick dwelling in Harbour Street, Wollongong.[32] There were eleven residents:
- William and Jane Wilson and their three young children. The two surviving children that had been born in Sydney now had a sister, Theresa Anne Spark Wilson, who was born in the Illawarra on 27 January 1839.[33] Two more children were to be born whilst the Wilsons were in Wollongong, Mary Jane Brand Wilson on 14 March 1841[34] and Henry O’Brien Wilson on 31 July 1842.
- Six domestic staff comprising five single females and one male. The female servants had arrived free or had been born in the colony. The single male was the only convict and was Presbyterian.
Also recorded in the 1841 census was William’s Fairy Meadow property ‘Ellengowan’ which was inhabited by three single male convicts in private assignment.[35] A few miles south at his ‘Five Island Farm’, Samuel Nicholson[36] was in charge of ten male convicts in private assignment.[37]
From the land transactions in the Illawarra made by William Wilson his place of residence was rarely noted. On 28 November 1835 when he mortgaged the Buckland grant of 1920 acres to Thomas Moore of Liverpool he was described as William Wilson of Illawarra Esq. but subsequent memorials rarely list his residential location.
Before William was declared insolvent in 1842 he was trying to offload some of his Illawarra investments as evidenced in an advertisement in the Sydney Gazette for the sale of ‘Ellengowan’ and the lease of ‘Five Island Estate’ in April 1841. All stock, buildings, equipment are up for grabs along with the transfer of the convict workforce. [38]
The advertisement also contains a very detailed description of both properties, stock and improvements. See http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2553169 for the full advertisement.
“WHEREAS the Estate of William Wilson was, on the 10th day of November, 1842,” New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, 15NSW : 1832 – 1900) 15 November 1842: 1711. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230359892>.
In delving into the first decade of William Wilson’s life in Australia he comes across as not only a speculator but also a man looking to establish a permanent home for his young family. The Illawarra appears to have been where he wanted to stay and a place he brought his family to live, if only for a short time. His attempts to retain what property he still had in the Illawarra were relinquished with his insolvency.
In 1844[39] William moved his family to the Northern Rivers of New South Wales to a pastoral run first taken up by William Dumaresq two years earlier. In 1848 he applied for a crown lease of an estimated 36 square miles to be named Lismore.[40] In this largely inaccessible region where transport was primarily by the Richmond River the Wilsons were among the few permanent settlers until the town of Lismore was established in 1856. The site of the town was William Wilson’s home block and was named Lismore by his wife.
[1] Wilson family, 1702-1988, part 1 of 2: Guy Saunders fonds, A2002.54, Series 23. Wellington County Museums and Archives. https://wcma.pastperfectonline.com/archive/7812E890-C1D0-45C8-B682-194636044761
[2] An unpublished manuscript Wilson of Glasgowego by Frederick Ramon De Bertonado is held by Richmond River Historical Society. Brief history of the Wilson family by Esme Smith, 1994, is also held by the society.
[3] Doyle, A P, “William Wilson & the O’Brien Connection”, Illawarra Historical Society Bulletin, Illawarra Historical Society, November 1990, pp 97-98.
[4] Henderson, John, Aberdeen epitaphs and inscriptions, Aberdeen, 1907, p.13.
[5] Dobson, David, Scots in the West Indies 1707-1857, Genealogical Publishing Com, 1998 (reprint), p. 147.
[6] “Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org)
[7] “First Settler Was Man of Vision & Courage” Northern Star (Lismore, NSW : 1876 – 1954) 18 October 1944: 7. Web. 7 Apr 2022 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98996691>.
[8] “Shipping Intelligence.” The Sydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 – 1838) 25 May 1833: 3 (AFTERNOON). Web. 7 Apr 2022 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32143788>.
[9] The passenger John Stephen was probably the son of John Stephen, the first Solicitor General for New South Wales. The writ of replevin was applied for by Sydney Stephen, eldest son of John Stephen and brother of the passenger John Stephen. The Stephens were from Aberdeen, Scotland and Sydney and he and his father had both practiced at the bar in the West Indies. John Stephen the elder owned Clareville Estate at Cooke’s River.
[10] “New South Wales Intelligence.” Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 – 1857) 9 July 1833: 3. Web. 23 Apr 2022 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8647100>.
[11] State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood New South Wales, Australia; Persons on early migrant ships (Fair Copy); Series: 5310; Reel: 1286
[12] The same advertisement lists as lot 5 the Estate of Balgownie near Wollongong which Alexander Brodie Spark was still trying to sell.
[13] Three of the children were from Thomas’s first marriage to Jessie Janet Wilson – Jane Grace 1821-1903, Elizabeth 1828-1879 and Adam 1824-1853. The children from his second marriage to Elizabeth Clarke were Thomas Trigg 1833 -? , John Clarke 1836-1862 and William 1838-1839. John Clarke Wilson was killed on the Wallsend Railway, Newcastle on 5 June 1862.
[14] MERCANTILE AND MONEY ARTICLE. (1854, February 14). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), p. 5. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12959814; “SYDNEY FISHERY COMPANY.” Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 – 1875) 2 January 1854: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60147908 ; “Advertising” Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 – 1932) 16 April 1853: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114835720.
[15] At least one of the older children stayed in Canada. Margaret Wilson, the eldest daughter had married James Webster in 1838 in Ontario. A number of the children of George and May Wilson returned to Canada and the UK. George Wilson died in London in 1867 and May Wilson died in Canada in 1880. For a very informative article on May Wilson’s brother William Dyce see Davis, Joseph. The Pre-Raphaelite Artist
William Dyce (1806–1864), https://www.academia.edu/80769467/THE_PRE_PRE_RAPHAELITE_ARTIST_WILLIAM_DYCE_1806_1864
[16] Edinburgh Evening Courant 15 September 1832; Aberdeen Press and Journal 21 March 1832; Aberdeen Press and Journal 21 March 1832
[17] Aberdeen Press and Journal 8 June 1831
[18] “The Cook’s River Church.” The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 – 1842) 14 July 1838: <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2551417>.
[19] State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, NSW, Australia; Archive Reel: 1586; Series: 12992; Description: Registers of Memorials for Land 1825-1842; The lease included a loft occupied by Daniel Egan, foreman of the dockyards, master boat builder and later Mayor of Sydney and MLA for Monaro.
[20] Wilson v the Nimrod (1838) https://www.law.mq.edu.au/research/colonial_case_law/nsw/cases/case_index/1838/wilson_v_the_nimrod/
[21] State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, NSW, Australia; Archive Reel: 1585; Series: 12992; Description: Registers of Memorials for Land 1825-1842
[22] NSW Land Services Book J No. 44.
[23] State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, NSW, Australia; Archive Reel: 2653; Description: Register of Notices of the Intention to Issue Deeds of Grant for Lands, 10 September 1830-6 November 1837
[24] State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, NSW, Australia; Archive Reel: 2653; Description: Register of Notices of the Intention to Issue Deeds of Grant for Lands, 10 September 1830-6 November 1837
[25] State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, NSW, Australia; Archive Reel: 1584; Series: 12992; Description: Registers of Memorials for Land. 1825-1842
[26] State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, NSW, Australia; Archive Reel: 1473; Series: 1231; Description: Half Monthly Returns of Applications for Portions of Crown Lands 1829-37
[27] NSW Land 63-228 1 June 1837
[28] The Fort Street property was mortgaged to Mrs Mary Reynolds in 1837 for £800, to Elizabeth Sadlier Cruden in 1837 and 1838 for £700.
[29] For example, when Wilson purchased John Buckland’s grant in 1836 he quickly mortgaged it to Thomas Moore of Liverpool; after re-purchasing lots 1 and 55 of the Balgownie Estate in 1839 Wilson mortgaged those lots to Matthew Devenish Meares. (Book R No. 454)
[30] Abbott, Graham J. and Little, Geoffrey. The respectable Sydney merchant, A.B. Spark of Tempe / [edited by] Graham Abbott [and] Geoffrey Little Sydney University Press Sydney 1976, p. 96.
[31] “News of the Week” Bent’s News and New South Wales Advertiser (Sydney, NSW : 1839) 15 June 1839. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article251530247>.
[32] New South Wales Government. 1841 Census: Householders’ returns and affidavit forms. CGS 1281, Reels 2508-2509. Return number 87, William Wilson, dated 13 March 1841.
[33] Teresa Anne Spark Wilson was the second child baptised at the new St Peter’s Church of England at Cook’s River. William Wilson’s brother Adam who lived at Cook’s River had been very involved in the establishment of the church.
[34] Mary Jane Brand Wilson was the only child of William Wilson baptised in Wollongong. Baptised at St Michael’s, Wollongong 17 October 1841. William’s occupation was ‘Private Gentleman’
[35] New South Wales Government. 1841 Census: Householders’ returns and affidavit forms. CGS 1281, Reels 2508-2509. Return number 134, William Wilson, dated 13 March 1841.
[36] Probably Samuel Nicholson, single, born 1809 Isle of Skye, farm servant, bounty immigrant arrived per British King 28 February 1839. State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood New South Wales, Australia; Entitlement certificates of persons on bounty ships; Series: 5314; Reel: 1299
[37] New South Wales Government. 1841 Census: Householders’ returns and affidavit forms. CGS 1281, Reels 2508-2509. Return number 312, William Wilson proprietor, Samuel Nicholson in charge, dated 13 March 1841.
[38] “Classified Advertising” The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 – 1842) 29 April 1841: <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2553169>.
[39] A 1944 article in the Northern Star states that the Wilson family arrived at the end of what is now Molesworth Street, Lismore in February 1844. “100 Years Since Lismore’s First Settler Arrived” Northern Star (Lismore, NSW : 1876 – 1954) 31 January 1944: <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96445172>.
[40] “CLAIMS TO LEASES OF CROWN LAND BEYOND THE SETTLED DISTRICTS.” The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954) 7 June 1848: <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12907046>.
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My dad, Paul Hucock, bought 41 Auburn Parade, Cringila, ?April 1962. We lived there until ?November 1977. I vaguely remember seeing the deeds that originally this was on a land grant given to Robert Jenkins.
If you are doing any exploration into land grants in the Illawarra, I am interested.
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Nice blog; good to see more historians publishing their perspectives! I look forward to reading more. Best wishes, Roger
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