Edward Wilson (13 November 1813 – 10 January 1878) was an English-Australian journalist and philanthropist. Edward_Wilson

Family

The second of the three children of John Wilson (1774–1834), a linen draper, and Mary Wilson (; 1766–1838), Edward Wilson was born at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London on 13 November 1813. He never married.

Education

He was educated at a "large private school" in Hamstead – where, among his schoolmates, were William Clark Haines (1810–1866), the first

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

, the brothers James Spowers (1813–1879) and Allan Spowers (1815–1876), proprietors of ''The Argus'', and Douglas Thomas Kilburn (1813–1871), the artist,

ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

, and

daguerreotypist Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839, th ...

.Anon (1878). Having left school, with his parents wanting him to "engage in commerce", he entered a business house at Manchester, and subsequently went to London, involved in the "Manchester trade".

Australia

In 1842 he migrated to Australia. At first, he had a small property on the northern outskirts of Melbourne but in 1844, in partnership with James S. Johnston, took up a cattle station near

Dandenong, Victoria Dandenong ( ) is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated m ...

''The Argus''

He bought '' The Argus'' around 1847 from William Kerr, incorporated with it ''The Patriot'', and five years later absorbed another journal, ''The Daily News''. In the early days of the gold-rush the paper was produced under great difficulties, but the circulation kept increasing, and it became a valuable property. Wilson strenuously opposed the influx of convicts from

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, fought for the separation of the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

from

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, and opposed Governor

Charles Hotham Captain Sir Charles Hotham (14 January 180631 December 1855)B. A. Knox,Hotham, Sir Charles (1806–1855), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 429-430. was Lieutenant-Governor and, later, Governor of Victoria, A ...

in his attitude to the miners; but when the rebellion broke out he took the stand that there were peaceable and legitimate methods of obtaining redress. When

Charles Gavan Duffy Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG, His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (12 April 1816 – 9 February 1903), was an Irish poet and journalist (editor of ''The Nation (Irish news ...

came to Victoria and went into politics Wilson sent him a list of suggested reforms which included justice to the Aborigines, the organizing of agriculture as a department of the state, the introduction of the ballot into municipal elections, and the leasing of crown lands for cultivation with the right of ultimate purchase. He was the first to raise the cry "unlock the lands". He was in fact a thorough democrat in sentiment, and an ardent reformer. Costs of running the ''Argus'' had increased and Wilson was close to ruin, but was saved when

Lauchlan Mackinnon Lauchlan Mackinnon (26 February 1817 – 21 March 1888) was a pastoralist, politician and newspaper proprietor in colonial Australia. Mackinnon one of the most enterprising of the pioneer colonists of Victoria (Australia) and one of the proprie ...

bought a partnership from James Gill, and took over management.

''Rambles at the Antipodes''

In 1857 and 1858, he travelled throughout colonial Australia and New Zealand, and on to England – where he consulted experts in relation to his failing eyesight (due to cataracts) – via the "Overland Route"; and, whilst doing so wrote an extended series of 21 articles for ''The Argus newspaper. The articles, which were published on a regular basis (often three articles in a single week), were later collected together and published in their aggregate (with an additional statistical appendix, and 12 lithographs by

Samuel Thomas Gill Samuel Thomas Gill (21 May 1818 – 27 October 1880), also known by his signature S.T.G., was an English-born Australian artist. Early life Gill was born in Periton, Minehead, Somerset, England, in 1818. He was the son of the Reverend Samuel G ...

) in 1859, as ''Rambles at the Antipodes'' (1859).

Acclimatisation

He took much interest in

acclimatization Acclimatization or acclimatisation ( also called acclimation or acclimatation) is the process in which an individual organism adjusts to a change in its environment (such as a change in altitude, temperature, humidity, photoperiod, or pH), ...

, founding the ''Acclimatization Society'' in Melbourne in 1861, as its first president, and, in the same year, visiting Sydney and founding the ''Acclimatization Society of New South Wales''.

England

Wilson finally settled in 1864 at

Hayes, Bromley Hayes is a suburban area of southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Bromley. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, to the north of Keston and Coney Hall, west of Bromley Common, south of Bromley town centre, and east ...

in England, and lived the life of an English country gentleman, at Hayes Place, farming 300 acres. He occasionally contributed to ''The Times'' and the ''Fortnightly Review''; an article from this journal, ''Principles of Representation'', was published as a pamphlet in 1866. Another pamphlet, on Acclimatization, was printed in 1875.

Death

He died at Hayes, in Kent, on 10 January 1878. His remains were repatriated to Australia on the SS ''Aconcagua'', and he was buried in the

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of five Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other ...

, on 7 July 1878, in a grave that "is immediately opposite the burial place of Sir Charles Hotham".

Estate

The bulk of his estate was used to form the Edward Wilson Trust which since his death has distributed several million dollars to Victorian charities, in particular the Melbourne, Alfred and Children's hospitals in Victoria.

Works

Notes

References

Anon (1878), "Death of Mr. Edward Wilson", ''The Argus'', (Monday, 14 January 1878), p.5.
* * Henry Gyles Turner, Turner, H.G. (1911)
"Edward Wilson", ''The Argus'', (Saturday, 30 December 1911), p.4.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Edward 1813 births 1878 deaths 19th-century Australian journalists 19th-century Australian male writers 19th-century male writers 19th-century Australian philanthropists Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery Australian male journalists