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William was born in 1868. William McCardle ... He passed away in 1912. [1]
William Wilson McCardle Mayor of Pahiatua New Zealand
- Birth Date: 1868
- Birth Place: Christchurch, New Zealand
- Death Date: 23 Oct 1912
- Death Place: Pahiatua, New Zealand
- Cemetery: Mangatainoka Cemetery, Pahiatua
- Burial or Cremation Place: Pahiatua, Manawatu District, Manawatu-:Wanganui, New Zealand
- Spouse: Charlotte Isabella McCardle
- Father: William Wilson McCardie
- Mother: Janet Catherine McCardie
- Children: Kathleen Margaret McCardle
- Cyril McCardle
He was born in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, in 1844, and was educated at the local grammar school. He lost his father early, and due to other misfortunes, he decided to emigrate to New Zealand He arrived in Lyttelton on 28 January 1863 on the Chariot of Fame, with his occupation given as shepherd on the shipping list.[2] He found employment as a shepherd on a station at Ashburton, where he stayed for two years. He was then for two years employed by John Greenaway, a Christchurch nurseryman, from whom he acquired gardening and orcharding skills
In 1866 at Dunedin,[3] McCardle married Janet Catherine Martin, daughter of Captain James Martin, master of the unfortunate coaster Margaret—a vessel built at Kaiwarra in the Wellington Harbour in 1845, and so completely lost on the way to Lyttelton in the following year that no trace of either ship or cargo was ever seen again.[2] McCardle moved to Dunedin in 1869 and founded his own nursery, and some six years later sold out and established himself in the same line in Masterton. McCardle's apple orchard, stocked with its hundred fruit-bearing varieties, was soon the talk of the Wairarapa.
In 1881, he founded Pahiatua.[5][6] There are conflicting accounts how the township came to its name, though. According to The Cyclopedia of New Zealand, it is Māori and means "The Home of the Gods".[1] The Cyclopedia was self-published (many articles were written by the subjects themselves) and it is thus likely that McCardle wrote this explanation himself, but it is also possible that he portrayed himself favourably and the information is not necessarily correct. A different version is that McCardle named the township after his friend, the Māori chief Koneke Pahiatua.[5] A third version is that another translation from Māori means "god's resting place", with the accompanying explanation that a chief fleeing from his enemies was led by his war god to this hill to seek refuge.
In 1884, McCardle moved to Pahiatua himself, and though he discontinued the nursery business, he had, at his homestead on the banks of the Mangahao River, an orchard of some twelve acres and a flower garden containing an extensive collection of Rhododendrons. He also had about 40 dairy cattle on his 180 acre farm, and the main portion of it was set apart as a stud sheep farm. His stud flock consisted of 300 Lincoln ewe
He passed away in 1912.[3]
Sources
- ↑ Entered by Phil Richardson, Aug 16, 2012
- ↑ "New Zealand, Civil Records Indexes, 1800-1966," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24J-59TJ : 4 October 2016), William McCardle and Janet Martin, 1866; citing Marriage, New Zealand, registration number 1866/8008, Archives of New Zealand, Wellington.
- ↑ "New Zealand, Civil Records Indexes, 1800-1966," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG6K-PTVZ : 4 January 2018), William Wilson McCardle, 1912; citing Death, New Zealand, registration number 1912/7444, Archives of New Zealand, Wellington.
- Find A Grave: Memorial #59543164
- Phil Richardson, firsthand knowledge. Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by Phil and others.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilson_McCardle