William Patten Cowlishaw (1 November 1839 – 27 March 1903) was a New Zealand barrister, provincial politician, and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. Born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 1 November 1839, he graduated Master of Arts from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. He received his legal training with Rowley, Holdsworth, and

Garrick Garrick may refer to: * Garrick (name), for the name's origin and people with either the surname or given name ** David Garrick (1717–1779), English actor * Garrick Club, a London gentlemen's club named in honour of David Garrick * Garrick Theatr ...

, and was admitted to the bar in 1863. He visited

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 New Zealand from June 1863. He soon returned to New Zealand and went into partnership with E. F. B. Harston in August 1863. Then, Garrick also moved to

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 ...

and joined the partnership, and they soon bought out Harston, becoming Garrick & Cowlishaw. In 1883, they took on James Bickerton Fisher as a partner. Cowlishaw played in one first-class match for

in 1864/65. Cowlishaw was the provincial solicitor for the

Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...

in 1864 and 1865. When Charles Bowen resigned from the provincial council's Avon seat, he won the resulting by-election, beating Musgrave Anderson.

See also