Biography

William McKnight (c.1881-1955)

William Alexander McKnight was the eldest son of George McKnight and Helen Lyall McDougall. George, an engineer, was born in Edinburgh and immigrated to New Zealand in 1874 on the ship Pleiades. His wife Helen came from Longforgan, Perthshire, Scotland. The couple married in Ashburton where William was born on 31st January 1881. George worked initially as a blacksmith at Mt Somers before taking up a position as an engineer with Kempthorne Prosser in Dunedin. KPs as they were commonly known were the leading pharmaceutical and fertilizer company in New Zealand from 1870-1978.

George and Helen raised a family of six children and resided mainly in the Caversham area of Dunedin where the children attended Caversham School. William’s education concluded in November 1895 when at age 14 he left to commence work.

As a young man William was employed as a warehouseman at Kempthorne Prosser, later becoming a taxi proprietor, an occupation he continued in for more than twenty years. He enjoyed athletics and was an inaugural member of the Caversham Harriers Club joining at its inception in 1905. His younger brother George McKnight junior was also bitten by the running bug and gained a formidable reputation in the pre WW1 years, taking out the NZ Cross Country Title, and numerous trophies at club and inter-provincial level. George also represented NZ at the Australasian Games held in Brisbane in 1909.

William, while less competitive, retained an active interest in harriers for many years.
On 12th April 1910, at the Caversham Presbyterian Parish church, William married Mary McKenzie, the daughter of Scottish immigrants Roderick and Flora McKenzie. William and Mary had one child, daughter Flora Mavis, later Mrs Thomas Hyde. Flora was known locally as a fine pianist and singer.

William died on 15th April 1955 in Dunedin at age 74 years. He is buried with his wife Mary, Mary’s parents, and her sister Binnie who died in childhood.

William McKnight left, with his brother George junior, circa 1896
Source: Lesley Treweek