CARGILL, EDWARD BOWES (1823-1903), the seventh son of W. Cargill, was born at Edinburgh, and received his education in Edinburgh, and afterwards (when his father moved to the east of England) at the Grammar School at Norwich and at Perone's School. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to the sea in the mercantile marine. There he spent six years, visiting Australia and the Far East. In 1844, having attained his majority, he settled down at Colombo (Ceylon) in the service of the Bank of Western India (afterwards the Oriental Bank). From this he moved into a mercantile office, and eventually went into business as Dowdall, Cargill and Co. Later they took into partnership Andrew Nicol, brother of the founder of the Bombay firm of W. Nicol and Co., and they continued to trade under the name of Nicols, Cargill and Co.

Cargill moved to Melbourne where he was in business (1855-57) as Eastern importers. In 1858 he settled in Dunedin. For the first two years after landing he was in partnership with John Jones as Jones, Cargill, and Co., merchants, shipping agents and shipowners. This was dissolved in 1861, and Cargill was then joined by his brother John. On the discovery of gold their business expanded rapidly, though they had the misfortune to be burned out in Dec 1861, and again in Feb 1864. In 1859 they purchased the paddle steamer Geelong, which was the first steamer to ply, under a provincial contract, between Lyttelton, Dunedin and Invercargill. The City of Dunedin, specially built for the firm, was delivered in 1863, after the dissolution of the partnership, but Cargill retained his interest in her. Jones and Cargill together projected the Otago Steam Navigation Co. for which ships were built on the Clyde to run in the intercolonial trade. The first of these, the Scotia, arrived in Mar 1864, but on her first voyage to Melbourne ran ashore near the Bluff. The Albion arrived in the same year and was sold for service in the East. The City of Dunedin sank in Jun 1865 and the Geelong near Whangape in 1878. The firm of Cargill and Co. was the first to import sugar direct from Mauritius (1862), and imported some of the earliest tea shipments direct from China. They were agents for the Scottish firm of Patrick Henderson and Co., whose ships carried emigrants under the Otago provincial government scheme. For some time G. McLean (q.v.) was in the firm (then Cargill and McLean) and on his retirement W. C. Gibbs came in (Cargill, Gibbs and Co.). In 1881 the business was purchased by the British and New Zealand Mortgage and Agency Co. (formed for this purpose by Cargill, Tolmie, Gibbs, Joachim and others). The company, which had investments in station lands in Otago, suffered heavily in the slump of the eighties, and was wound up in 1889. Cargill lost severely, and he was disappointed also in the meat-preserving works at Green Island, in which he had invested much money. Discouraged by these misfortunes, he retired from business. He was a director of the New Zealand Refrigerating Co., the Mosgiel Woollen Co., the Union Steamship Co. (on the first board), the Trustees, Estate and Agency Co., the Westport Coal Co., and the old City and Suburban Tramway Co., and a founder of the National Insurance Co. and the Colonial Bank (of which he was for two years president).

In the first Otago Provincial Council Cargill represented Western District (1862-63). In the next Council (1863) he sat for Dunedin and was for a month or so provincial secretary; but he was defeated at the general election in 1867. He again successfully contested the seat in 1871, and was again in the executive, but was defeated in 1873. In the Council he introduced resolutions aiming at the free selection of land in the interior of the province, but they were withdrawn in favour of another scheme. In Parliament Cargill represented Bruce (1862-65), retiring at the general election. He stood for Dunedin Central in 1887, but was defeated by Fitchett. He was a member of the old Dunedin town board, of the Otago harbour board and of the city school committee. In 1870-71 he was a member of the City Council. When the jubilee of the province was about to be celebrated Cargill, as a son of the first Superintendent, was mayor of Dunedin (1897-98). Education always had in him a strong supporter. He was a member of the High School board of governors and of the council of Otago University (1869-1903), and a vice-chancellor (1894-1903). Cargill was a strong supporter of Knox Church, of which he was an elder, and the last survivor of the first kirk session.

Cargill was unwittingly the originator of the term 'Old Identity.' Having in public utterance exhorted the original settlers to stand together to preserve their identity, he was made the butt of a joke by Thatcher, the comedian, who represented him as 'an Old Identity.' Cargill married (1854) Dorothy (d. 1889), daughter of Dr Nesham, of Newcastle-on-Tyne. His death occurred on 9 Aug 1903.

Otago P.C. Proc.; NZP.D.; Cycl. N.Z., iv(p); Ross; McIndoe; Otago Daily Times, 8 May 1872, 10 Aug 1903, 17 May 1930 (P). Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 1, page 86

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