Captain William Thomson, the first harbour master of Otago, was a deeply religious man who was considered one of Port Chalmers’ most-respected and best-loved citizens. He was born in 1822 at Alloa, Scotland, the ninth child in a family of 12. At the age of 13 he chose to go to sea as an apprentice to his uncle, Captain Watson Thomson. He proved to be a talented seaman and by the remarkably young age of 21 had become a master mariner in charge of his own ship. For several years he held command of ships trading to the Mediterranean, Philippines, North America, and Australia.
William was passionate about music and usually organised a sailors’ band aboard his ships, though the sailors were sometimes reluctant to participate. Despite this, William went to great efforts to have music, particularly when he began carrying thousands of immigrants from Ireland to America, as he found it helped keep his passengers cheerful. On one such voyage he was ready to set sail, but had no musical sailors. On the walk to his ship however, he came across a young Irish fiddler playing on a street corner, and William asked if he fancied a trip to America. The fiddler took him up on the offer and within two hours was sailing away from the Irish shore.
William was in Melbourne in the 1850s when he met Otago government official, William Hunter Reynolds, who had come to Australia to persuade mechanics and artisans to come to Otago. William was convinced and for a number of years commanded Johnny Jones’ vessel Thomas and Henry, trading between Melbourne and Otago. In 1856 William was granted ten acres of crown land at Sawyers Bay though he did not live there for any length of time until the late 1870s. In 1860 he was appointed chief harbourmaster in Otago by Captain Cargill, who knew William well. After remaining in this position for 25 years, he had a two-year stint in charge of the Port Chalmers graving dock, before becoming a marine surveyor.
William was an elder of the Presbyterian Church for over 50 years and the last surviving member of the original membership roll at Port Chalmers. He was a kindly man who helped others generously and never sought riches or wealth. He died in 1913, aged 93. He had outlived three wives but was survived by a daughter from his first marriage, and a daughter and a son from the second.
Captain William Thomson