William Henry Wynn-Williams (1828 – 27 October 1913) was a 19th-century
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
from
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
, New Zealand. He was a prominent lawyer in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
.
Early life
Wynn-Williams was born in August 1828 in
Llangar
Llangar is a former civil parish in Denbighshire in Wales, south west of Corwen, its post town, and north east of Bala. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Alwen and Dee, and includes the small hamlets of Bryn, Cymer, and Gwyn ...
,
Conwy County Borough
Conwy County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy) is a county borough in Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south, and Denbighshire to the east. Other settlements in the county borough include Abergele, Betws-y-Coed, Colwyn Bay, Conwy, ...
,
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
.
His father was the rector Peter Williams, and his mother was Lydia Sophia Price. One of his brothers was
Watkin Williams.
The birth dates for William and Charles are uncertain, as they were apparently born in August and September 1828, respectively
*Parish registers of Llangar show Watkin baptised in Sept 1827 & Henry in Sept 1828.
His brother Charles studied medicine initially, but changed to a law degree. William was educated in preparation for joining the Indian army, but then also studied law. After practising in Wales for two years, William emigrated to New Zealand, arriving in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
in 1856. He worked on farms in the
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
and settled in Christchurch in 1860.
Professional career
![Ferrymead on Wynn Williams](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Ferrymead_on_Wynn_Williams.jpg)
He began practising law in New Zealand in July 1860 when he joined the practice of Harry Bell Johnstone, who had started his legal firm in January 1859.
Johnstone ceased to practice in 1864, but Wynn-Williams remained with the firm until 1912.
The firm of
Wynn Williams & Co still exists today.
He was involved in
conveyancing
In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts ...
, criminal trials and significant civil litigation. He is described as fearless and often represented the underdog.
Political career
Political activism
George Allen was a leader of several protest groups. One such group, the ''Ratepayers' Mutual Protection Association'', challenged the right of the
Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, who ...
to exist. Wynn-Williams was active with the group and took the case to court.
Ratepayers started to withhold their rates, and in April 1866 the Council was forced to drastically cut expenditure in order to fend off bankruptcy.
Staff were laid off, street cleaning suspended, some streets no longer lit and contracts cancelled. In May 1866, the city drainage scheme was abandoned, a project that had been estimated to cost £160,000.
A shipment of pipes that had just arrived from England was sold off, ensuring Christchurch's reputation as the most polluted and unhealthy city for another 20 years.
Wynn-Williams eventually lost the lengthy case and left the ''Ratepayers' Mutual Protection Association'', which then folded.
Provincial Council
Wynn-Williams was a member of the
Canterbury Provincial Council
The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch.
History
Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential Eng ...
from 1865 until the abolition of provincial government with one interruption. He represented Heathcote (July 1865 – May 1866), City of Christchurch (June 1866 – November 1870) and Papanui (October 1871 – June 1875).
Member of Parliament
The 10 December
1881 general election in the
Heathcote electorate was contested by the
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...
James Fisher, Wynn-Williams and Major Alfred Hornbrook. They received 119, 243 and 167 votes, respectively. Wynn-Williams was thus elected with a majority of 76 votes.
Wynn-Williams was an advocate of the working class.
Although the Christchurch newspaper ''
The Press
''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...
'' was conservative and thus from the opposite end of the political spectrum than Wynn-Williams, they praised him in an editorial on 21 April 1883 for speaking his forthright opinion rather than following the attitude of other politicians of saying what the voters want to hear and what is popular with them:
It gives us a new and a delightful sensation to read the speech he made to his constituents at Woolston
Woolston may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington
* Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon
* Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...
on Thursday evening so free it is from humbug or deception, and so vigorous with fearless candor.
His great-grandson, Robert Wynn-Williams, used the editorial as inspiration for the title of his biography.
The nominations for the
1884 general election in the
Heathcote electorate took place on 16 July.
The 22 July election was contested by the incumbent Wynn-Williams,
John Coster
John Lewis Coster (1838 – 17 December 1886) was a 19th-century member of parliament from Christchurch, New Zealand. He was mostly known for his business interests.
Biography
Coster was born in Exeter, and emigrated to Sydney at the age o ...
and James Fisher. They received 245, 445 and 15 votes, respectively.
Coster was thus, with a majority of 200 votes, elected to represent Heathcote in the
9th New Zealand Parliament
The 9th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand.
Elections for this term were held in 4 Māori electorates
In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special cat ...
.
Community involvement
Wynn-Williams was on the council of the Canterbury Society of Arts, a group organising exhibitions of paintings. In 1881, he was vice-president of that organisation.
Death
He died on 27 October 1913
and is buried at
Barbadoes Street Cemetery
The Barbadoes Street Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was set up with three discrete areas for different denominations.
Description
The cemetery was included in the original survey of Christchurch that was carrie ...
.
Bibliography
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wynn-Williams, William
1828 births
1913 deaths
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Members of Canterbury provincial executive councils
People from Christchurch
19th-century New Zealand lawyers
Burials at Barbadoes Street Cemetery
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1884 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1871 New Zealand general election
New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates
People from Llansannan
Welsh emigrants to New Zealand
19th-century New Zealand politicians