The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]
Weir, William
Weir, William , Farmer, Spar Bush Block, Waianiwa. Mr Weir was born on the 1st of April, 1851, at Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. He landed at the Bluff by the ship, “Sir William Eyre,” with his father, in 1863, and was brought up as a bootmaker in Invercargill. In 1888 he gave up his trade, which was injuring his health, and bought 282 acres of land at Waianiwa. The property was then in its natural state, but has since been brought almost entirely into cultivation. As an Oddfellow, Mr Weir is a member of the Shamrock, Rose and Thistle Lodge. In the early days he was a member of the first brass band in Invercargill, and he has been a member of the Waianiwa school committee, of which he was chairman for three years. Mr Weir was married, in 1879, to a daughter of Mr Willian Cruiek-shanks, twine manufacturer, Invercargill, and has, surviving, two sons and six daughters.