Biography

William Wheeler (c.1824 – 1882)

William Wheeler was born in 1824 in Reading, Berkshire, England. Information provided at the time of his death states that his parents’ names were Richard and Margaret Wheeler. On the 28th November 1842,18 year old William arrived in the colony of Van Diemen’s Land onboard the vessel ‘Sir Charles Napier’. The cost of his passage from London was 16 pounds and 10 shillings. William was a bounty* immigrant heading for a farm positon at Prosser’s Plains, 61km North East of Hobart. His employer was a farmer by the name of Solomon Green. The area then known as Prosser’s Plains was settled in 1820, and renamed Buckland in 1880 after a noted geologist and clegyman William Buckland. In 1836 the town’s population numbered 200 persons.

A shortage of elegible female immigrants dictated that single men’ look further afield’ and many found their wives from amoung the hundreds of convict women transported to the penal colony to serve out their sentence.

One such was Jessie White whom William proposed to marry. A young Scots woman, Jessie had been sentenced at age 19 to a period of ten years transportation for housebreaking. Permission to marry was required from prison authorities. This was granted on the 2nd of October 1855 and the nuptials took place on the 22nd October the same year at the church of St. George in Hobart. According to the marriage certificate Wiliam was then 30 years of age. Unable to write both parties signed with an x, Jessie’s illigitimate son William, born in 1852, took the surname Wheeler.

When Jessie was granted an unconditional pardon in1857 the couple made plans to leave Tasmania for a new life in Dunedin, New Zealand. A son John had been born to them in August 1856, a daughter Mary born in 1858 died prior to her second birthday. A second daughter Hannah was born in Tasmania in September 1860.

The Wheeler family found opportunity and prosperity in their new homeland where William was employed primarily in labouring work. They were able to freehold their own property and raised a family of nine, three sons and six daughters. Wheeler decendants have fought meritoriously for their country in wartime and achieved success in a wide range of professions.

In October 1882 William Wheeler contracted pneumonia and after seven days illness he succumbed. He died on the 20th October 1882 aged 69 years. His wife Jessie is buried with him.

*Assisted single male immigrants were paid a ‘bounty’ (in William’s case the sum of 18 pounds) against their future wages.