William John Warburton Hamilton

[3] In 1850, Governor Grey appointed Hamilton resident magistrate for Wanganui, which was a significant responsibility for a person aged 25.

[4] Hamilton held the post in Wanganui for about half a year only before he took on another role at Port Cooper (now known as Lyttelton).

[7] In the first elections for the Canterbury Provincial Council on 31 August 1853, five people contested the three available positions in the Town of Lyttelton electorate.

Hamilton came a close second, and was thus returned; the other successful candidates were Isaac Cookson and Christopher Edward Dampier (the solicitor of the Canterbury Association).

[8] In November 1853, he was appointed onto the first Executive Council (comparable to a cabinet) as Provincial Auditor under Henry Tancred.

Whilst there was justification for such a measure due to the long session lengths, the Executive Council consisting of Tancred, Henry Godfrey Gouland, Charles Simeon, and Hamilton regarded the matter as a vote of no confidence and resigned.

Burke wrote:[14] Mr. H. was notoriously the most perfect embodiment of red tape who ever held office in Canterbury.

[15][16] Colleagues from the Lyttelton Times were pall bearers and carried the coffin from his home to Barbadoes Street Cemetery.