CARGILL, WILLIAM WALTER (1784-1860) was born in Edinburgh and was descended from the Scottish Covenanter Donald Cargill, who was beheaded in 1681. His father was James Cargill, a writer to the signet, and the boy had a Scots tutor, Thomas Chalmers, who was later a famous divine. He also attended the Edinburgh High School.

At the age of 18 Cargill received an ensigncy in the 84th Foot, and went to Calcutta to join his regiment. At the battle of Assaye (Sep 1803) the casualties suffered by the 74th Highlanders provided promotion, and Cargill was appointed a lieutenant in that regiment. After spending four years in India he returned to England, and in 1810 the regiment went to the Peninsula, where he served for four years. Severely wounded at Busaco, he was invalided to England, but soon returned to his regiment as captain and fought through to the concluding victory at Toulouse. In 1813 he married at Oporto, Mary Ann, daughter of Lieutenant Yates, R.N. After the peace of 1814 the regiment returned to Ireland and eventually to Scotland, and in 1820 Cargill retired, with the Peninsula medal and seven clasps.

Cargill now thought of going abroad, but the family strongly opposed the idea, and he went into business in Edinburgh as a wine merchant. In 1834 he joined the service of the Yorkshire District Bank, in charge of one of its branches. In 1836 he became general manager for the East of England, with headquarters at Norwich. In 1841 he resigned and joined the board of the Oriental Banking Corporation in London. His attention was attracted by the correspondence of George Rennie in the Colonial Gazette in 1842 regarding the proposed Scots settlement in New Zealand. He got into touch with Rennie and for a year or two worked in close conjunction with him to further the scheme of a Free Church colony. The New Zealand Company favoured the project, and the Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland adopted it. When Cargill paid for two sections in New Zealand (Jul 1843) he gave his address as 'Bombay, India.' Troubles arose at both ends, and the Otago scheme was suspended for about four years.

When eventually the pioneers sailed in the John Wickliffe, with Cargill as their leader, he was already 64 years of age, with a military career of 17 years completed fully a generation earlier. But he had the ripe, shrewd sagacity which a body of Scots wanted in their leader. "I almost believe," said Sir George Grey some time later, "that a more wise and sagacious man than Captain Cargill never existed." In spite of his Nonconformist tradition and upbringing, Cargill was not more narrow than a man of nearly three score and ten years must necessarily be. If he opposed innovations that were wildly liberal, he also resisted some which were too liberal for the good of posterity. When the constitution of 1852 came into force (1853) Cargill waited anxiously for weeks and months after the other provinces lest his Council should take any step in the appropriation of moneys that was not fully justified by the law. He was elected Superintendent without opposition; and re-elected without opposition for a new term (1855-60). For part of the time he was also a member of Parliament, representing the Dunedin Country District (1855-60). Tried by the opposition of a small but able party within the province, Cargill showed a tendency to obduracy with his Council, which was obviously the result of advancing years. He steadfastly contended for his dignity and his prerogative and chafed sorely in the harness of responsible government, under which all his utterances to the Council had to be composed or approved by his executive before he delivered them. Accused of nepotism in circumstances which left him little option but to promote some of his influential and brainy sons-in-law, he said (Oct 1857): "This I say because of the untruthful ribaldries that are on this occasion being circulated. Nepotism and family clique are words that must indeed be a farce, in the face of the Otago public, whose Superintendent and sons-in-law have been so openly opposed to each other in politics, and that with perfect independence on either side. Truly there never has been, and on my part never shall be, a vestige of favour or affection in any such matters. But neither am I to be scared from public duty by any such missiles as I have referred to. I would have all to know that I am in no degree to be swayed from doing what I have a right to do—to put the right man into the right place—whether that man might happen to be my son-in-law or anyone else." A greater insult to the veteran was the suggestion that he was old. "This at least is the truth," he admitted in a message to the council, "and to the curious in such matters I shall give a gauge not easily forgotten. Your Superintendent is just 50 days older than Lord Palmerston, and can look back upon half a century when, as a humble sub, he had occasion to correspond with his lordship, then Secretary at War. Subsequent experience must have taught him something of public matters, but he will only notice that the last 14 years have been extremely devoted to the planting and progression of this colony, in whose advancing prosperity he greatly rejoices, and I should therefore lament its passing under the slashing regime of a young assistant—young, at least, in experience—and whose first vaunted steps would be a breach of the law." Cargill held office for two years longer. He handed over the superintendency to Macandrew on 3 Jan 1860, and several months later resigned his seat in Parliament. He died on 6 Aug 1860 and his widow on 26 Oct 1871. (See E. B. CARGILL, JOHN CARGILL and WILLIAM H. CUTTEN.)

N.Z.C. (Otago Association); Otago Witness, Mar 1898 (p); Otago P.C. Proc.; Arnold; Cox; Reeves; Hocken, Otago; Gisborne; Cycl. NZ, iv; Otago Daily Times, 10 Jan 1930 (p).

Reference: Volume 1, page 86

🌳 Further sources