Sir John Cracroft Wilson
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Sir John Cracroft Wilson (1808 - 1881) was a British civil servant and farmer. Born in India, the son of Alexander Wilson, F.R.S., a Judge in the Madras Civil Service, and Clementina, née Cracroft. He was educated at Haileybury College and Brasenose College, Oxford, and entered the Bengal Civil Service as a cadet, advancing to become a Magistrate.
In 1853 his health broke down and he was ordered to convalesce in a cooler climate. Accordingly, he sailed to Australia and, after purchasing sheep and cattle in Sydney, took them to Lyttelton, New Zealand in the Akbar. He arrived on 8 April 1853 and at once took up land in the Port Hills. He named the farm Cashmere (now a suburb of Christchurch) after Kashmir in India. By the time his leave had expired, his station was well established.
In May 1855 he returned to India. During the Mutiny Cracroft Wilson secured special powers from the Lieutenant-Governor and acted to prevent the spread of disaffection. His intervention was so effective that, after the Mutiny, Lord Canning, the Viceroy, recommended him for a distinction
- “because he has the enviable distinction of having, by his obstinate courage and perseverance, saved more Christian lives than any man in India … at the repeatedly imminent peril of his own life”.
Queen Victoria awarded him the C.B. and, when the Order of the Star of India was instituted in 1872, Cracroft Wilson was offered, and accepted, the rank of Knight Commander.
After he returned to New Zealand in 1859 Cracroft Wilson was elected to the House of Representatives for Christchurch City (1861–66), Coleridge (1866–70), and Heathcote (1872–75) and was for some years Chairman of the Public Petitions Committee. He was a forceful and, at times, provocative debater. During the 1860s, when Māori affairs were frequently before the House, Cracroft Wilson drew freely on his Indian experiences to reinforce his arguments. He strongly urged the use of Gurkha troops as the most effective means of bringing the war to a speedy and successful conclusion. He represented Ashburton in the Canterbury Provincial Council from 1866 to 1870 and Heathcote in 1871 and 1875–76. For a short time in 1875 he was President of the Provincial Executive. In addition he served on numerous local bodies and was a keen member of the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society. He was an early member of the Canterbury Jockey Club and helped Cass to select the site of the racecourse. He commanded the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry, was a patron of opera and drama, a governor of Canterbury College, and a diocesan synodsman. As a farmer, he imported pedigree sheep, principally Lincolns, and founded a stud flock.
Sir John Cracroft Wilson was twice married: first, on 4 November 1828, at Westminster, to Elizabeth Hall; and, secondly, on 12 October 1844, at Moradabad, India, to Jane Torie Greig. He had four sons and three daughters.
