page_title: John Watts-Russell
section_title: Life in New Zealand
hierarchical_section_title: John Watts-Russell / Life in New Zealand
caption_attribution_description: English: The old cottage at Ilam, built by J. C. Watts-Russell in 1856. John Charles Watts-Russell (1826-1875) built this on his farm which he named Ilam after his family home in Staffordshire, England.
context_page_description: John Charles Watts-Russell JP was a 19th-century New Zealand politician, a member of the Canterbury Provincial Council and a member of the Legislative Council. He was supposedly the wealthiest of the early settlers, and his homestead became the centre of entertainment in Christchurch. He was a significant runholder and, together with a business partner, was responsible for building up the Canterbury sheep stock.
context_section_description: The couple plus some of their staff (Elizabeth's personal maid, Johanna Wornall; Sarah Hodgkinson née Mellor and her husband Charles) arrived in Lyttelton on 17 December 1850, on Sir George Seymour, one of the First Four Ships.  For the first while, they lived on the ship. Returning to the ship from shore on 5 January 1851, their boat with nine passengers capsized. Elizabeth managed to hold onto a rope, but her husband, thinking that she was in trouble, attempted to rescue her. As he could not swim, he himself got into difficulty, so now Elizabeth tried to save him. They had already sunk twice before they got pulled out of the water.
  Land parcels were allocated in early 1851. The order by which the settlers could choose was determined by ballot. Watts-Russell's name came up early and he chose land adjacent to the farm established by the Deans brothers in the early 1840s at Riccarton Bush. That land parcel was bounded by what are now Riccarton, Waimairi and Clyde Roads and the Waimairi Stream. While a cob house was built for them on their land, they lived with Charlotte and John Robert Godley; Godley is considered the founder of Canterbury. He called their home Ilam after his birthplace.
  The Watts-Russells were wealthy and could afford staff; they were supposedly the richest settlers from the First Four Ships. This allowed them the time to participate in social and charitable activities. His wife was known for her charm and vivacity, and their home became one of the centres of entertainment in Christchurch.
  Watts-Russell took an interest in sheep and horses when most other farmers concentrated on arable farming. He and his friend and business partner, Alfred Richard Creyke, were instrumental in establishing and building up the Canterbury sheep stock. Creyke was employed by him to manage his runs.
  Creyke had a large sheep run on the Canterbury Plains that he managed together with Watts-Russell on behalf of an absentee land holder. Creyke also owned some of the land. The run's homestead was located at Racecourse Hill, about halfway between Darfield and Waddington. Creyke sold the station in 1860 or 1861.
  Watts-Russell bought the Dalethorpe run off the Deans brothers in 1851 and owned it until 1866. In the early years, he had this run managed by Creyke. Watts-Russell had named it Dalethorpe after a family property back in his native Staffordshire. It was located in the Malvern Hills (named after the English Malvern Hills) behind Homebush, with Dalethorpe Road leading into the area.
  Whilst their sheep ventures were most beneficial to the South Island economy, another of their ventures proved disastrous, as they introduced rabbits.
  James FitzGerald founded The Press, and it was conceived at Watts-Russell's homestead. FitzGerald documented the occasion in a letter dated 5 June 1861:
  Sitting after dinner at Ilam about a month ago, I said I saw no hope for a better state of public policy here unless there was a new newspaper started which would tell the truth without fear or favour. In five minutes the thing was settled. If I would undertake the management of it, it was to be started and five hundred pound was put down on the spot; it was soon found there was a little press and some types to be bought. I promised I would write and would exercise a general superintendence over the matter... The first number appeared three weeks after the conversation referred to.
caption: Watts-Russell's 1856 cottage (ca. 1900)
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