Thomas WILLSON (1845-1907)

The late THOMAS WILLSON, agriculturist and grazier, Willson River, Hog Bay, Kangaroo Island, was the eldest son of the late Mr. Thomas Willson, of the same place, and was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1845. He came to South Australia with his parents in 1849, and received his education at the late Mr. John L. Young's Educational Institution, North Terrace, Adelaide. He was for a time associated with his father in farming pursuits, and about 1868 became engaged in the agricultural and pastoral industry on his own account at Port Morrison for ten years. He then removed to Willson River, which district had just been surveyed, and took up a tract of country, which he developed successfully, and carried on active operations there until the time of his demise, which occurred in 1907.

He held a commission of Justice of the Peace, being appointed to the office immediately after the death of his father, who was the first Magistrate sworn in for Kangaroo Island, he took a prominent interest in all matters concerning the welfare of the island, and served for some years as a member of the Dudley District Council. In 1868 the late gentleman was married to Mary Ann, eldest daughter of the late Mr. C. T. Mole, J.P., of Crystal Brook and Yankalilla, formerly of Norfolk, England, and had a family of ten children, of whom four sons and five daughters survive.

- Cyclopedia of South Australia 1909, p.1024.