Mr and Mrs William Wilson (née Helen Marshall)

William Wilson was said to have been ‘the father of Otago’s iron industry’ due to his many early accomplishments in engineering. He was born in Kirkaldy, Scotland on 20 March 1821 to Agnes and Gavin Wilson.   His father was a millwright and William served an apprenticeship under him before becoming an engineer on board ships of the West India Company and the P&O Company. This put William at Malta on board the Indus when the Crimean War first broke out and his steamer transported around a thousand troops for the front.

In 1849 he married Isabella Kinghorn and together they emigrated to Otago in 1856 with their three daughters. Their first home was a two-storied building on Walker Street (now Carroll Street), where the young family slept on the floor of the small bedroom. William suffered two tragedies in short succession when his baby son died in November 1859 and then his wife died of severe anaemia within a month.  In 1862 William was remarried to Helen Marshall, who had emigrated on the Jura in 1858.  They went on to have four sons and two daughters together.

After working briefly as a building contractor, William opened the Otago Foundry in 1860, laying the foundation of the engineering trade in Dunedin. This grew into an extensive business until 1875 when William injured his knee and was forced to sell the foundry. Though it had been a highly successful business venture, William was not a typical businessman. He had an extremely generous nature and often gave away Helen’s cherished plants and sold his land with little persuasion. He was simply bad with money, judging others according to his own high code of honour.  His trust was betrayed many times, resulting in repeated financial losses.

William died on 22 March 1901, aged 80.  Eight years later, Helen moved out of their St Clair home, ‘Hazelbank’, to live with her daughter Margaret.  She died there on 14 March 1912,  aged 82.