Sir John Cracroft Wilson (21 May 1808 – 2 March 1881), also known as

Nabob A nabob is a conspicuously wealthy man deriving his fortune in the east, especially in India during the 18th century with the privately held East India Company. Etymology ''Nabob'' is an Anglo-Indian term that came to English from Urdu, poss ...

Wilson, was a British-educated civil servant in India, farmer and politician in New Zealand.

Early life

John Cracroft Wilson was born in Onamore, India, the son of Alexander Wilson , a judge in the

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Civil Service and a noted botanist, and Elizabeth Clementina Wilson ( Cracroft). His mother was from a long established family—the Cracrofts of Hackthorn Hall in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. Her family name was given to him as a second Christian name, a custom that has been followed by the family ever since; they are thus known as the Cracroft Wilsons. He was educated at

Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to: Australia * Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia **Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia China * Haileybury International School, an international ...

and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

. He returned to India in 1828 and entered the Bengal Civil Service as a cadet, advancing to become a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. Advancing to the rank of assistant commissioner to William Sleeman, he was assigned to the Doab region in 1832 where he investigated men who were accused of

thuggee Thuggee (, ) are actions and crimes carried out by Thugs, historically, organised gangs of professional robbers and murderers in India. The English word ''thug'' traces its roots to the Hindi ठग (), which means 'swindler' or 'deceiver'. Rela ...

. He married Elizabeth (née Wall), probably on 4 November 1828 at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, or

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

, Surrey. His wife died in 1843 in

Moradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and 344 ...

after giving birth to their eighth child. He was married again, on 12 October 1844, to Jane Torie Greig in Bareilly near Moradabad. There were no children from this second marriage.

Australia and New Zealand

In 1853 his health broke down and he was ordered to convalesce in a cooler climate. He wanted to find a country suitable for the retirement of employees of the East India Company. Accordingly, he sailed to Australia on the ''Queen'' with his wife, daughter Emma, many servants, stock and exotic livestock. He did not like Australia, but met Alfred Cox, who was buying sheep for his next venture in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Wilson decided to also go to Canterbury, and, after purchasing sheep and cattle in Sydney, took them to Lyttelton in the ''Akbar''. After a disastrous journey where much of his stock died and 1,200 sheep had to be jettisoned, he arrived on 8 April 1854. His stock was transferred to the nearby Gollans Bay (the bay in

Lyttelton Harbour Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand; the other is Akaroa Harbour on the southern coast. It enters from the northern coast of the peninsula, heading in a pred ...

beneath Evans Pass), where he lost more stock to tutu poisoning and southerlies. His party made its way over the Port Hills via the

Bridle Path A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...

. He took up of land on the other side of the Port Hills and named the farm Cashmere (now a suburb of Christchurch) after

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

in India. He leased three more runs further away from Christchurch which he named Broadlands, High Peaks, and Cracroft. The run at Cracroft, near Hinds, was at the second largest in Canterbury. At his Cashmere station, he built a house with 11 rooms and several farm buildings. Wilson left Lyttelton on 19 December 1844 on the ''Waterwitch'' for India, and the following year, his eldest son arrived to take over the management of the properties. His wife and daughter would follow him some time later, and they would not arrive in

before 1857. His daughter Emma met Logan Campbell on the journey; they married on 25 February 1858 at Meerut, NWP India; they lived in Europe then in Auckland, New Zealand.

Service in India

Wilson arrived in India in May 1855. During the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, he 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 Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning, (14 December 1812 – 17 June 1862), also known as The Viscount Canning and Clemency Canning, was a British statesman and Governor-General of India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the first Vice ...

, 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.

In May 1860, Queen Victoria awarded him the

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) and, in 1872 Cracroft Wilson was offered, and accepted, the rank of Knight Commander (KCSI) of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

Later life in New Zealand

After he returned to New Zealand in 1859 Cracroft Wilson was elected to the House of Representatives for the electorates of City of Christchurch (1861–1866), Coleridge (1866–1870), and Heathcote (1872–1875). At the end of the 1866–1870 term, Cracroft Wilson retired from the Coleridge electorate due to an 'unfortunate accident' that he had suffered. On 30 July 1872, he was elected unopposed in a by-election to represent Heathcote following the resignation by

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

, who had accepted a position in the Legislative Council. In the 1875–1876 general election, held on 4 January 1876 in the Heathcote electorate, Cracroft Wilson was defeated by

James Temple Fisher James Temple Fisher (1828 – 3 January 1905) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Canterbury, New Zealand. Fisher arrived in New Zealand on the ''Charlotte Jane'', one of the First Four Ships. He represented the Heathcote elector ...

. He was for some years Chairman of the Public Petitions Committee. He was a forceful and, at times, provocative debater. During the 1860s, when

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

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 on 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 May 1862 to May 1866 and Heathcote from March to July 1871, and again from April 1874 to abolition of the Provinces in October 1876. He was on the Canterbury Executive Council from 15 April 1875 until its abolition, and during its last session (April to June 1875), he was its president. 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. Cracroft Wilson died at Cashmere, Christchurch, on 2 March 1881. He was survived by his wife and four of his children (Frederick, Alexander, Emma and Constance). During World War II, the military commandeered the Cracroft Wilson estate, founded by Cracroft Wilson in 1854, for their Southern Group headquarters, and secret work on the

Cracroft Caverns Cracroft Caverns, also known as the Cashmere Caverns, are a series of large chambers in the hill of the Cashmere suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. Constructed secretly during the Second World War in response to the Japanese threat, they were i ...

underneath the house began in 1942.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cracroft Wilson, John 1808 births 1881 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Canterbury Provincial Council Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Members of Canterbury provincial executive councils Unsuccessful candidates in the 1875–1876 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians