Person

Wilson, Edward (1813 - 1878)

Born
3 November 1813
Covent Garden, United Kingdom
Died
10 January 1878
Hayes, Kent, United Kingdom
Occupation
Naturalist and Newspaper proprietor

Summary

Edward Wilson was a newspaper proprietor and editor, and an enthusiastic supporter of the acclimatisation movement. His early career was as a linen draper, but after some business reversals he decided in 1842 to migrate to Australia. Initially he engaged in agricultural pursuits which did not thrive. In 1848 Wilson purchased (in partnership with James S. Johnston) the newspaper, the Argus . He built it into a substantial and influential daily newspaper, in the early years seeking controversy with his main targets being the government and people in authority. In 1855 he retired as Editor, but remained a co-owner. Wilson interested himself in a number of causes, including the treatment of Aboriginal people, penal conditions, and particularly acclimatisation as a means of improving opportunities for farmers. He was a founding member of both the Zoological and Acclimatisation Societies of Victoria. He went to the United Kingdom in 1859 to seek medical treatment and resided there permanently from 1864. The bulk of his estate was used to form the Edward Wilson Trust which has distributed large sums of money to Victorian charities.

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Details

Chronology

1841
Life event - Migrated to Australia
1842 - 1846
Life event - Engaged in agricultural pursiuts in Victoria
1848
Life event - Purchased (in partnership) the Argus newspaper
1857
Career position - Founder and member of Committee, Zoological Society of Victoria
1859 - 1860
Life event - Visited United Kingdom
1861
Career position - Founder and member of Committee, Acclimatisation Society of Victoria
1864
Life event - Returned permanently to the United Kingdom
1868
Career position - Founder, Royal Colonial Institute, United Kingdom
1868 - 1875
Career position - Member of Council, Royal Colonial Institute, United Kingdom
September 1955
Career event - Retired as Editor of the Argus

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Wilson, E., Rambles at the Antipodes: a series of sketches of Moreton Bay, New Zealand, the Murray River and South Australia, and the overland route (London: W. H. Smith and Son, 1859), 219 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Serle, Geoffrey, 'Wilson, Edward (1813 1878), journalist and philanthropist' in Australian dictionary of biography volume 6: 1851 - 1890 R-Z, Serle, Geoffrey and Ward, Russell, eds (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1976), pp. 412-5. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wilson-edward-4866. Details

Journal Articles

  • Lourie, Amanda, 'Promotion of 'Useful Knowledge': the Argus and Science in 1850s Colonial Victoria', Victorian Historical Journal, 84 (2013), 72-92. Details

See also

  • Gillbank, Linden, 'The Origins of the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria: Practical Science in the Wake of the Gold Rush', Historical Records of Australian Science, 6 (3) (1986), 359-374. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9860630359. Details
  • Gillbank, Linden Rae, 'The Acclimatisation Society of Victoria', Victorian historical journal, 51 (4) (1980), 255-70. Details

Helen Cohn

Created: 9 November 2023

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