DILLON, CONSTANTINE AUGUSTUS (1813-53), fourth son of the 13th Viscount Dillon, served in the Royal Navy, the 7th Dragoon Guards and the 17th Lancers. He was aide-de-camp to Lord Durham in Canada and to Lord Ebrington, lord-lieutenant of Ireland. He married on 10 Feb 1842 Fanny, daughter of P. L. Story.

Dillon arrived in Wellington in the George Fyfe on 7 Nov 1842 on his way to Nelson. In 1843 he became a magistrate of the territory, and he drilled the Nelson volunteers after Wairau and was a recognised leader in the affairs of the province. It was he who proposed the resolution demanding the recall of Governor FitzRoy (1845). Dillon's land holdings were in the Waimea and more extensively in the Wairau, where he owned the Delta Dairy, the first farm of its kind in Marlborough. He was one of the first sheep owners (in partnership with W. O. Cautley). In May 1848 he was appointed military and civil secretary to the Governor (Sir George Grey) and removed to Auckland. Early in 1851 he returned to Nelson on his appointment as commissioner of crown lands there and later in the year he was appointed also a commissioner for land claims. On 3 Jun he was called to the Legislative Council of New Zealand and he took the oath and his seat that day.

Dillon was drowned while crossing the Wairau river on 16 Apr 1853.

Burke, Peerage, 1935; Dillon Letters, 1848-51; Nelson Examiner, Apr 1852.

Reference: Volume 1, page 121

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