WILSON, JOHN ALEXANDER (1809-87) was born at Ipswich, the second son of Captain J. A. Wilson, of the 2nd Regiment (Queen's Own). At the age of 13 he entered the Royal Navy as a gentleman volunteer (Apr 1822), and saw considerable foreign service. He was at the capture of a pirate in the Gulf of Campeche, and in the ship which rescued the King of Portugal at Lisbon.

In 1828 Wilson married the daughter of Major Francis Hawker. Four years later he retired from the Navy with the rank of lieutenant to offer his services as a lay missionary to the Church Missionary Society. On 5 Oct 1832 he sailed with his family in the convict ship Camden for Port Jackson, and on 11 Apr 1833 arrived at Bay of Islands in the schooner Byron. He entered at once upon his duties as a catechist, mastered the Maori language, and in Dec proceeded with Preece to the station just opened at Puriri (Thames), where they were joined later by Fairburn and Morgan. In 1835 Wilson assisted Brown to open the station at Matamata, and in 1836 he went with Wade to Te Papa. When Waharoa raided Tauranga in Mar 1836 the missionary families were sent for safety to Puriri, but Wilson remained at his post. He was ordained deacon in 1852. In the Taranaki war, with the approval of the Government, Wilson accompanied the Waikato taua to Waitara, with the object of lessening their ferocity and protecting the wounded. He was at the battle of Puketakauere (Jun 1860), at Pukerangiora (Jan 1861) and at Huirangi (Dec). He persuaded them to accept a code of humane treatment, and to attend to the wounded day by day. Wilson died on 5 Jun 1887. His book Missionary Life and Work in New Zealand was published in 1889. His fourth son, Major-general George Alfred Wilson, died on 21 Jan 1889. (See J. A. WILSON, H. T. KEMP)

J. A. Wilson, op. cit; Wells; Gudgeon; Cowan; Sherrin and Wallace; Grace; Davis

Reference: Volume 2, page 264

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