[1] He joined the British Army in 1802 and served with distinction in India, Spain, and France.

[citation needed] On 24 November 1847, Cargill sailed for New Zealand on the ship John Wickliffe, arriving at what is now Port Chalmers, Otago on 23 March 1848.

[2] The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 granted the settler population self-government, and in 1853 Cargill was elected Superintendent of the Otago Province.

[failed verification] Aged 75, he announced his resignation from public office in October 1859; he died less than a year later.

[citation needed] The city of Invercargill is named in honour of him (Inver coming from the Scots Gaelic word inbhir meaning a river's mouth), as is Mount Cargill, which towers above northern Dunedin.