He participated in the capture of a pirate vessel in the Bay of Campeche off Mexico, and the rescue in 1824 by HMS Windsor Castle of John VI of Portugal out of the hands of a faction in the April Revolt.
[1][3] In 1833, he and William Thomas Fairburn, John Morgan and James Preece opened a mission station at Puriri on the Waihou River.
[3] Anne Wilson was the first European person buried in the mission cemetery at Otamataha Pā.
[13][14][15][16] In 1852 Wilson was appointed by the Central Committee of the CMS to the charge of the Auckland missionary district which extended from Whangārei to Taupō.
[17][18] In 1860–61, Wilson was a missionary-chaplain to Māori war-parties at the Otawhao Mission of John Morgan and at Waitara, Taranaki.
He was present at the Battle of Puketakauere on 23 June 1860; the action at Huirangi in December 1860 against the major Māori defensive line called Te Arei that barred the way to the historic hill pā of Pukerangiora; and the battle on 23 January 1861, when the Māori warriors attacked a redoubt, which was garrisoned by the 40th Regiment.