After the death of his mother, his father was also deceased, Willis sailed from England aboard the ship Dinapore and landed in Auckland in 1857.

Willis was the founder of the Hawke's Bay Herald in Hastings, but left the paper to partake in the gold rush in Otago.

He spent six years a Borough Councillor and also served a member of the Harbour Board, including time as its chairman.

[6] Despite having similar ideologies, Willis was famous for his turbulent relationship with Seddon, the two men disliked each other which caused many arguments between the two.

In what was to become known as the "Willis Blot", a clause was proposed to bypass industrial disputes straight to the Arbitration Court with the idea of hastening the process.