Frederick Wilding (20 November 1852 – 5 July 1945) played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

in the 1880s and 1890s. He also played tennis and was a noted athlete.

Early life

Wilding was born in Montgomery, Wales in 1852. His father, John Powell Wilding (1812–1872), was a surgeon. His mother was Harriet (). He was educated at Hereford Cathedral School in

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

and at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

, England. He gained admission as a solicitor in 1874. Wilding was prominent as an athlete in the west of England. In June 1879, he married Julia Wilding (née Anthony), the daughter of a mayor of Hereford. In the same year, they emigrated from Herefordshire to New Zealand.

Life in New Zealand

Wilding became a well-to-do lawyer in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, and was appointed a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1913. Their house, "Fownhope" in St Martins, Christchurch, had two tennis courts, an asphalt winter court and a summer grass court. He founded Wilding Park, which is today the largest tennis centre in Canterbury. He won the New Zealand Championships doubles title five times between 1887 and 1894 with his partner Richard Harman. Their son Tony Wilding, was a world champion

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player, and played cricket for Canterbury, but was killed in action during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Their daughter Cora Wilding was an artist and outdoor enthusiast, and founded the Youth Hostel Association of New Zealand in 1932. He died, aged 92, in Christchurch on 5 July 1945, and was buried at Bromley Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilding, Frederick 1852 births 1945 deaths Burials at Bromley Cemetery 19th-century New Zealand sportsmen Canterbury cricketers New Zealand cricketers New Zealand male tennis players New Zealand King's Counsel People from Montgomeryshire Sportspeople from Powys Welsh emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand sports executives and administrators People educated at Hereford Cathedral School People educated at Shrewsbury School 19th-century New Zealand lawyers