William Panton Adamson (1862 - 1937)

Died 1937 at about age 75 in New Zealand

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Biography

Possibly born in Victoria as father was working in the goldfields there and moved to NZ approx. 1862. He passed away in 1937 age 75 ^[1] and is buried with his mother, Margaret, in the Eastern cemetery (no gravestone), in a family plot along with several other siblings who had died much younger

CIVIL SITTINGS. (Before his Honor Mr Justice Williams.) ADAMSON V. ADAMSON. Claim for £lO7 19s cd and certain rights in connection with properties situated at Richmond Grove and Mill road, near Invercargill. • Mr W. A. Stout (of Invercargill) appeared for the plaintiff, William Adamson ; Mr A. B. Haggitt (of Invercargill) for the defendants, William Panton Adamson and James Addie Adamson. The plaintiff is a man over 80 years of age, and the defendants are his sons. The plaintiff resided for many years at Richmond Grove, on the outskirts of Invercargill on the cast, where he owns considerable property. In October last year he had occasion to borrow £4OOO on the security of the property, and thereafter he entered into an agreement (on 11th November) with his three sons with regard to part of his land. The principal clause of the agreement was whereby the father, now plaintiff. agreed to transfer under deed of gift a certain part of the property to his three sons, reserving to the father a life interest in the land and relieving him of obligations imposed by the mortgage. The sons look after the property, subject to the mortgage. No assignment of the stock, implements, and chattels was made. There were two farms, one known as Chatsworth, where the homestead was, and the other some three or four miles further out, near Mill road. The father at the time the agreement was entered into was living at the Chatsworth farm with two sons. At that time plaintiff was not living with his wife. Subsequently Adamson was not satisfied with the way the sons were running the farm, and wanted to take the management into his own hands. The sons objected.- Adamson was taken with a severe illness, and his wife, hearing of the illness, went to the house and undertook the nursing of him. The sons felt aggrieved at the wife rejoining the husband, and they turned her out. Adamson said that if she were turned out he would go, as there would be no one to look after him, and he was sent to the house where his- wife was living in Invercargill. The practical intention of the agreement, counsel contended, was that plaintiff should get the net profits of the working of the farm. Plaintiff contended that W. P. Adamson was a lessee and not entitled to wages, and that there never was an agreement to pay wages to H. Adamson. Further than that it was contended by plaintiff that any claims by the sons had been fully satisfied by the deed of gift of the farm to the sons. Counsel asked that plaintiff be allowed the net profits of the farm, subject to anv claim the sons might have to be employed at 25s a week; that the plaintiff be adjudged entitled, if he considered it necessary, to take the management into his own hands, and that the sons be restrained from preventing him taking over the management also that plaintiff should have the right to sell the stock. Plaintiff therefore sought judgment for £lO7 19s 6d : for accounts of all stock and produce sold by defendants off the land since 11th November 1909 and judgment for the balance after deducting all payments properly made ; for an injunction preventing defendants interfering in the management of the land or stock or selling any stock or produce off the land; for a declaration that plaintiff has a right to select the stock and implements; and for costs against defendants. This case was partly heard at Invercargill early this month. •Further evidence was given for the plaintiffs case by Henry Addie Adamson. Mr Haggitt. in opening the case for the defendant said the claim for £lO7 19a 6d, the accounts put in evidence showed that not only were the defendants not. indebted to the plaintiff, but that the plaintiff was indebted to them in the sum of £28 5s 6d. The evidence as to the employment of the defendants by the plaintiff as wage-men was perfectly clear, and the defendant had, as a matter of fact admitted it, and the reason why no actual claim was made for these wages was that the defendant, James Adamson, had control of the banking account, and, therefore could have paid himself at any time. With regard to the second cause of action—to dismiss the defendants from the management of the farm—it was clear from the history of the case that the agreement entered into by which the plaintiff transferred the freehold of the farm to the defendants and Henry Adamson, reserving a life estate to himself, was, under the circumstances, a fair and reasonable agreement to make. He was an old man of 85 years of age, unable to work the farm himself, and he was afraid that influence might be brought upon him to leave the farm to others than members of his family, and it was, therefore, arranged that the' property should be transferred to them, subject to his life estate, they agreeing to work the farm on the conditions set out in the agreement. With regard to the allegations that the farm 'had not bein properly worked, it was clear from the evidence of Mr Cuthbertson, who valued the property on behalf of the mortgagees prior to the agreement having been entered into, and who examined it after the present action was brought, that the farm had been well and carefully worked by the defendants during the last six months. Evidence was given for the defendants' case by the two defendants, after which Henry Addie Adamson was recalled. Learned counsel addressed the court, and his Honor said he would take time to consider his decision

^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ http://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
   • NZ Death registration 1937/29642
2. ↑ Otago Witness, Issue 2938, 6 July 1910