William Campbell Walker, CMG (1837 – 5 January 1904) was a New Zealand politician.

Biography

Walker was born in 1837, at Bowlandstow,

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

, Scotland, the eldest son of Sir William Stuart Walker ( KCB). He received his education at

Trinity College, Glenalmond Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. T ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

and then at

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. He graduated in 1861 and then completed a further MA degree. Together with his brother, he emigrated to New Zealand and arrived in Lyttelton on board the ''Evening Star'' in January 1862. The brothers then owned and ran a sheep farm at

Mount Possession Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Southe ...

. When they bought the land, Walker was assigned some land in

Riccarton Riccarton may refer to: New Zealand * Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch ** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it ** The location of Riccarton Race Course * a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago Scotlan ...

. He later gave the land away, so that a settlement for working-class people could be established. Walker married Margaret Wilson the daughter of Archdeacon James Wilson. They were to have five sons and one daughter. Walker was the first chairman of the Ashburton County Council from 1877 until 1893. He represented the Ashburton electorate 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 ...

in the 5th and 7th Council (14 June 1866 – 27 September 1867; 8 April 1874 – 31 October 1876). Walker then represented the Ashburton electorate in Parliament from to 1890, when he was defeated. He was appointed to the Legislative Council by the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

on 15 October 1892. He was reappointed on 15 October 1899. He was a member of the Executive Council (20 February 1896 – 23 June 1903), Minister of Immigration (2 March 1896 – 20 June 1903) and Minister of Education (11 March 1896 – 20 June 1903). While he was a minister, he mostly lived in Wellington. He was created a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in June 1901, on the occasion of the visit of TRH the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

and Queen Mary) to New Zealand. Walker ended his career as the Speaker of the Legislative Council from 9 July 1903 until his death. He was a member of the Board of Governors of Canterbury College. As a member of the cabinet, he was instrumental in passing the act that provided for the separation of the

Agricultural College This article lists agricultural universities and colleges around the world, by continent and country. Africa Algeria * Higher National Agronomic School (French name: Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique) Benin * Agricultural University of ...

from the college proper. He was a member of the Land Board of Canterbury from 1891 until 1896. Walker died on 5 January 1904 and was buried three days later at Sydenham Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and his six children.

Notes

References

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, William Campbell 1837 births 1904 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand education ministers Speakers of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand Liberal Party MLCs Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council People from Midlothian People educated at Glenalmond College People from Ashburton, New Zealand Burials at Sydenham Cemetery Unsuccessful candidates in the 1890 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians