Cathcart Wason

Cathcart Wason
Cathcart Wason, ca 1878
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Coleridge
In office 6 January 1876 – 14 April 1879
Majority	7
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Wakanui
In office 9 December 1881 – 22 February 1892
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Selwyn
In office 4 December 1896 – 15 November 1899
Majority	162
Member of the United Kingdom Parliament for Orkney and Shetland
In office 1900 – 19 April 1921
Personal details
Born	17 November 1848 Girvan, Scotland
Died	19 April 1921 London, England
Spouse(s)	Alice Seymour Bell
Relations	Rigby Wason (father) Eugene Wason (brother) Peter Cathcart Wason (grand-nephew) John William Crombie (nephew-by-marriage)
Children	nil

(John) Cathcart Wason (17 November 1848 – 19 April 1921), generally known as Cathcart Wason, was a Scottish farmer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament in two countries: first in New Zealand and then in Scotland. He established Barrhill, a model village, and after the failure of this colonial venture, he returned to Scotland. An unusually large man (he was over 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall), he is noted both as an innovative farmer and for having passed his time in the British House of Commons by knitting.

Born in Colmonell near Girvan, South Ayrshire, he was the son of Rigby Wason and his wife Euphemia McTier. Rigby Wason was a barrister and a successful farmer who converted much of his Corwar estate from moor to arable land; he had also served as a Member of Parliament. He was educated at Laleham and at Rugby School. He came to Canterbury in New Zealand in 1868.

Cathcart Wason had four siblings; three older brothers (Rigby, Eugene and James) and one younger sister (Catherine Rigby).Peter Cathcart Wason was Eugene's grandchild.

Lendon was a 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) run on the south bank of the Rakaia River on New Zealand's South Island, about 17 km from the town of Rakaia. The land was first taken up by John Hall, but had changed ownership several times before Wason bought it, including 1,250 acres (510 ha) of freehold land, in February 1869 or April 1870 (sources vary). Wason renamed his property Corwar after his father's lands in Scotland, and set about trying to create a model estate.

His planting of pine trees and of oaks, walnuts and poplars extended over 600 acres (240 ha) and allowed shelter from the prevailing north-west winds to allow sheep farming and the growing of wheat, while water power was used for agricultural machinery. He bought and sold land, and by 1882 Corwar was consolidated as a freehold estate of just over 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) with a large mansion overlooking the river, complete with gate lodge and gate-keeper.