William was born in 1823 in Bristol, England. His father was a silk dyer, but by age 15, William was working as a clerk. On Christmas Day 
1849, he married Matilda Clarke at Easington, Gloucestershire. Their first daughter Eliza Matilda was born in 1850 and the family were living at Clifton in 1851 where William was a clerk at a leather factory.
A shipping list for 1860 lists William, Matilda, Eliza, Annie, Clara, Kate and Ellen Willway arriving in Auckland. They appear to have settled at Onehunga where William and Matilda taught in a school. He did the accounts for the Onehunga Band of Hope and Total Abstinence Society and he was also a member. They were also members of the Independent Chapel there. Later on he opened a Silk, Cotton and Woolen Dyer & Cleaner business. He also offered to clean cloths, dye & curl feathers and sell sulphuric acid. In the evening he would give lectures in the local schoolhouse. One was on Dr Johnson’s Tour to the Hebrides.
In February 1867, Matilda and four children are on a ship heading for Greymouth. William followed four months later. There was no Society send-off and he left with unpaid rates debts.
William appears to have set up a new dyeing business in Greymouth. He sold this in 1878 and they moved to Timaru. He swapped from running a business to managing Watkin’s medical dispensary in Timaru.
In 1879, William became a a superintendent of the Sunday School which had 255 scholars and 16 teachers. He held this position until 1891 when he and Matilda moved to Christchurch. He must have interacted with a great number of children over those twelve years, which may explain the inscription on his plaque.
Matilda died in 1896 at her home in Papanui and was buried in Papanui Cemetery. William moved to Wanganui for a while and then came to Wellington for the benefit of his health. William died on 11th July 1903 at his son-in-law’s house in Wellington south, in his eightieth year. His surviving children were Eliza Matilda, Clara, Kate and Annie.
William’s son-in-law, William Henry Suckling, was interred in the same plot.
Plot: *Ch Eng/T/44
By Julia Kennedy
