William Soltau Davidson (15 June 1846 – 17 July 1924) was the New Zealand pioneer of
refrigerated
The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
shipping
Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...
.
Early life
Son of Frances Pillans and bank manager David Davidson, William Davidson was born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Canada. He attended the
Edinburgh Academy
The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...
, (his father having become
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
manager of the
Bank of Scotland
The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...
), before taking a position book keeping in Glasgow. Davidson was planning to work on a ranch in Argentina, when, while travelling by train, met
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.
...
and
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
Association shareholder James Morton. On the strength of their conversation during the journey, Morton hired William Davidson as a cadet - and persuaded his father to invest £10,000.
Sheep farming in New Zealand
William Davidson arrived in Port Chalmers on 30 December 1865 in the ship Celaeno. He was sent to the company's 600 km
2 farm at
Timaru
Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...
where he spent 2 years as a shepherd under James Hassell, being responsible for the 85,000
Merino
The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...
sheep. By the end of the two years, Davidson was overseeing 15 Scottish shepherds, and had helped survey and fence much of the previously open land. Using £150,000 borrowed from the company, he purchased more land., increasing holdings to 2,000 km
2. He also assisted
James Little James Little may refer to:
* James Little (American politician), Wisconsin State Assemblyman
* James Little (British politician) (1868–1946), unionist politician in Northern Ireland
* James Little (physician) (1837–1916), Irish physician
* J ...
in his experiments to cross Merinos with Lincoln Stud rams, producing the
Corriedale
The Corriedale is a New Zealand breed of sheep. It was bred from about 1882 in the South Island by James Little, who cross-bred Merino and Lincoln Longwool sheep. The breed was officially recognised in 1911. It has been exported to Australi ...
breed. In 1875, he was made superintendent.
On a trip back to Edinburgh, Davidson married Jane Emily Davidson, daughter of the sheriff of Midlothian, in October 1873.
In 1878 the Canterbury and Otago Association amalgamated with James Morton's other venture, the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, and now incorporated over a 10,000 km
2 between the two countries. However, when Morton was implicated in the collapse of the
City of Glasgow Bank
The City of Glasgow Bank was a bank in Scotland that was largely known for its spectacular collapse in October 1878, which ruined all but 254 of its 1,200 shareholders since their liability was unlimited.
History
The bank was founded in 1839 wi ...
the following year, and bankrupted, the banks liquidators (holding nearly half the new company's stock), attempted to sell the land to realise their assets. Davidson replaced Morton as General Manager, and persuaded Morton's creditors to continue to hold all but the most marginal land.
Refrigeration
![SS Dunedin loading 1882](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/SS_Dunedin_loading_1882.JPG)
At the time, sheep were farmed only for
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
. With the success of the Antipodean farmers, international wool markets suffered from supply outpacing demand, and between 1873 and 1888 wool prices fell by a third. Davidson had been looking to the United Kingdom's increasing population and fixed food supply to provide a solution. He converted some land to dairying in Southland, helping establish a
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
making industry in
Edendale. However his real hopes were to find a use other than wool for the company's vast herds of sheep. New Zealand had attempted to export meat in cans in the 1870s, however while popular in the South Pacific islands to this day, canned meat did not sell well in Europe. Live shipment was prohibitively expensive. Assorted experiments in refrigerated shipping had been attempted in the mid-1870s - sometimes successful on a small scale, but generally not successful on a larger scale. The first attempt to ship refrigerated sheep meat from Australia had resulted in the loss of the whole cargo.
Working with his successor as Superintendent,
Thomas Brydone, Davidson inspected refrigerated ships, and researched different methods of refrigeration. In 1881 he arranged for the
''Dunedin'' to be refitted with a compression refrigeration unit, and supervised the establishment of a slaughter works at
Totara Estate,
Oamaru
Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...
. Despite the loss of 650 carcases when the crankshaft of the compressor broke, on February 15, 1882, the ''Dunedin'' sailed for London with what was to be the first commercially successful refrigerated shipping voyage, and the foundation of both this industry and New Zealand's early lead in it.
The refrigerated shipping industry expands
![S S Mataura](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/S_S_Mataura.jpg)
The
SS ''Marlborough'' - sister ship to the ''Dunedin'' - was immediately converted and joined in the trade before the end of 1882, although beaten by the rival New Zealand Shipping Company vessel the ''Mataurua''. The German ''Marsala'' became the first steam ship to carry frozen New Zealand lamb in December 1882. Within 5 years, 172 shipments of frozen meat were sent from New Zealand to the United Kingdom, (of which only 9 had significant amounts of meat condemned). Refrigerated meat and dairy produce continue to provide the main primary exports for New Zealand to this day.
Return to Britain
Davidson was increasingly based in the UK as NZALC general manager, although he continued to regularly visit New Zealand and Australia. Davidson's wife had died in 1884, leaving him to care for their daughter Jane. He became director of two companies, and was appointed to the boards of the Scottish Union and National Insurance Company and the
National Bank of Scotland
The National Bank of Scotland was founded as a joint stock bank in 1825. Based in Edinburgh, it had established a network of 137 branches at the end of its first hundred years. In 1918 the bank was bought by Lloyds Bank, although it continued ...
. His portrait was painted by Sir
James Guthrie in 1918. William Davidson retired as general manager of the NZALC in 1916, remaining on the board of directors until his death in 1924. William Davidson was posthumously inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.
He died at Leuchie in
North Berwick
North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town
A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on th ...
on 17 July 1924. He is buried in
Grange Cemetery
The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...
in south Edinburgh. The grave stands on the south side of the central vaults facing the south-east section.
Family
In 1887 he married Caroline Elizabeth Thomas Thierens. The couple had no children.
See also
*
Agriculture in New Zealand
In New Zealand, agriculture is the largest sector of the tradable economy. The country exported NZ$46.4 billion worth of agricultural products (raw and manufactured) in the 12 months to June 2019, 79.6% of the country's total exported goods. Th ...
References
*''A lasting Legacy - A 125 year history of New Zealand Farming since the first Frozen Meat Shipment'', Ed. Colin Williscroft PMP, NZ Rural Press Limited, Auckland, 2007
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Mervyn Palmer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, William Soltau
1846 births
1924 deaths
People educated at Edinburgh Academy
New Zealand farmers
New Zealand inventors
People from Montreal
Canadian emigrants to New Zealand