Biography

William Thompson was a well-known Dunedin citizen. He was licensee of the Red Lion Hotel, and later the Criterion Hotel, which he sold to spend an active life travelling. He was a prominent member of the Freethought Association, which he supported monetarily, as well as the Masons and other societies. He had a wide circle of friends.

William was married to Ellen Thompson, who died on 8th February 1878. They had no children, and William apparently had only two nephews remaining of his relatives. On Sunday 28th September 1891 William was found dead in his residence at Dowling Street, having commited suicide by shooting himself. As well as the death of his wife, he had been involved in a serious accident some four years before this, and had recovered but had been variable in mood ever since. He had also been worried for quite some time about settling the affairs of the late Charles Roberts, for whom he was the executor. The weapon William used to kill himself was the same one used by Roberts when he had shot himself about two years before.

(Details from the Otago Witness, Issue 1962, 1st October 1891)