William Henry Valpy

Who was William Henry Valpy?

William Henry Valpy was a noted early settler of Dunedin, New Zealand. He is sometimes referred to locally as "The father of Saint Clair", as he was the first settler in the area now occupied by the suburb of Saint Clair.

Valpy was the son of English educationalist Richard Valpy, and the younger brother of Abraham John Valpy. Valpy spent much of his early life in Calcutta, where he worked as a judge. He retired to England in 1836, but poor health prompted him to emigrate with his family to healthier climes. He arrived in the new settlement of Otago in early 1849, only one year after its founding.

At the time he was regarded as the wealthiest man in the colony. Valpy was the first settler in the south Dunedin area, with two large farm properties he named "Caversham" and "The Forbury" after places connected with his family in and around the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. The names still survive as the names of Dunedin's suburbs of Caversham and Forbury, and a road in the suburb of Saint Clair close to the former site of the Forbury estate buildings is named Valpy Street. These farms were important sources of employment for many of the new community, as was Valpy's construction of a road linking the properties with the heart of the city. This road formed the basis of several arterial routes still in use in Dunedin.