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William Field Porter (1784–1869) was a ship owner from Liverpool, who migrated to South Australia in 1839. He relocated to Auckland in 1841, where he became a member of the New Zealand Parliament. Biography Porter was born in London in 1784. He married Alice Roper in Liverpool (c. 1811), with whom he had four children. Porter became a prominent sea captain, operating a small fleet out of his own yard at Liverpool. He and other members of the Porter family sailed for the British East India Company (e.g. his cousin, George Porter).〔S.J. Porter-Sampson, ''Porter...They Be Thy People'', Adelaide, 1988, p. 11; J. and J. McDonald, ''Three William McDonalds'', Canberra, 2010, pp. 119-120.〕 In the late 1830s he suffered substantial losses at sea, which his son said were behind his decision to migrate.〔W.F. Porter, ‘How Captain Porter Came to S.A. and New Zealand’, Waikato, 1907.〕 Porter sold his shipyard in Liverpool and took two of his ships, ''Porter'', and ''Dorset'', provisioned with livestock and a range of personnel (including a doctor, tutors and servants), so that he could set up a relatively self-sufficient farming station at Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula. Porter himself captained his namesake, the ''Porter'' (a 252-ton brig), which he had built in 1824 and which had been strengthened so that it would be fit for the hazardous voyage. Upon arrival, he used this vessel to set up a shipping service from Port Lincoln and Adelaide to and from other Australian and New Zealand ports. Porter also built the ''Dorset'' (95 tons) in 1838, specifically as a back-up ship for the journey to Australia. This was sold upon arrival.〔S.J. Porter-Sampson, ''Porter...They Be Thy People'', Adelaide, 1988, pp. 140-145; J. and J. McDonald, ''Three William McDonalds'', Canberra, 2010, pp. 121-123.〕 Porter’s expedition arrived at Port Lincoln in early 1839. The party was just one of three to arrive with settlers for the district in the 1830s and 1840s. It became apparent to him that Adelaide would be the main settlement in South Australia and that immediate prospects for Port Lincoln would be limited.〔''First South Australian Colonial Census'', 26 February 1844.〕 Impatient for success, he decided to forego the significant investment and effort he had made in the fledgling settlement (e.g. building two houses, establishing a bank and helping build the first Church of England). He abandoned the settlement in 1840. Although Porter’s tenure in Port Lincoln only lasted 18 months, he had, nevertheless, been appointed the first Magistrate of the Eyre Peninsular and his family left its name at ‘Porter Bay’. In May 1841, Porter arrived in New Zealand. Alice was sceptical and had returned to Liverpool with their son, William Field junior. She waited until he was properly settled, before joining him in Auckland. Porter served in the 1st New Zealand Parliament as representative for the Suburbs of Auckland electorate from to 1855, when he retired, but did not serve in any further Parliaments. He also served on the Auckland Provincial Council. Porter died on 30 March 1869 at Mangatangi, Waikato.〔S.J. Porter-Sampson, ''Porter...They Be Thy People'', Adelaide, 1988, p. 140.〕 ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Field Porter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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