William Oldfield Cautley (1822 – 17 February 1864) was a

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settler and politician.

Early life and family

Cautley was born in the English county of

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

in 1822, the son of the Reverend Richard Cautley. He was educated at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils 13–18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. ...

from 1837 to 1840, where he was an

exhibitioner An exhibition is a type of historical financial scholarship or bursary awarded in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Purpose An exhibition is historically a small financial award or grant, of lower status than a "scholarship", given to an individu ...

on leaving, and then matriculated at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

in the

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, 1840. However, in September 1841 he sailed from

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on the ''Mary Ann'', bound for the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model that was focused on the systematic colonisation of New Ze ...

's new settlement of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, landing there on 8 February 1842. He began farming a property known as "Wensley Hill" at Waimea East (now called

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). In September 1842 Cautley was appointed as the Nelson postmaster and clerk to magistrates, and in 1848 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the province of New Munster.

Political career

In 1850, Cautley was appointed as a member of the short-lived Legislative Council of the province of New Munster. In the 1853 general election, Cautley was elected as representative for the Waimea electorate alongside David Monro. The first session of the

1st New Zealand Parliament The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 24 May 1854, following New Zealand's first general election (held the previous year). It was dissolved on 15 September 1855 in preparation for that year's ...

started on 24 May 1854, and Cautley resigned his seat on 26 May 1854. He did not serve in any further Parliaments. In November 1854, Cautley was elected as a member for Waimea East on the Nelson Provincial Council following the death of sitting member Francis Otterson. Cautley defeated Stephen Lunn Müller by 54 votes to 40.

Later life

Cautley died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 17 February 1864, after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cautley, William Oldfield 1822 births 1864 deaths Politicians from Buckinghamshire People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge British emigrants to New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Nelson Provincial Council New Zealand farmers New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council (1841–1853)