William Robinson (runholder)  William Robinson (4 May 1814 – 9 September 1889), also known as Ready Money Robinson, was a New Zealand runholder and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council. Robinson was born in 1814 in Bold Hall near Warrington, Lancashire, England. His parents, Thomas Robinson and Elizabeth Lyons, were tenant farmers. He emigrated to South Australia in September 1839 on the "Lady Lilford", and promptly took up grazing pursuits, being a pioneer settler at Inman Valley. His next venture, in 1841, was droving 6,000 sheep and 500 cattle overland from New South Wales to South Australia. While droving, he and his party were attacked by Aborigines. That triggered the Rufus River massacre: he participated in killing at least 30 Aborigines, and was speared in his left arm. In 1844, on the Hill River in the Clare Valley he established the prosperous Hill River Station, comprising over . He there became a close associate of fellow pastoralist John Jackson Oakden who, like Robinson, was later to move to New Zealand. He married Eliza Jane Wood on 4 July 1846 at Adelaide. They had five daughters; their son died as an infant. His third daughter, Caroline, was to marry Francis Bell, a later Prime Minister, in 1878. He came to New Zealand in 1856 as a wealthy man and was known as Ready Money Robinson for his ability to make large purchases in cash. He resided in Nelson, and bought Cheviot Hills estate. William James Gardner, in his book "A Pastoral Kingdom Divided", said that this "was probably the largest and most spectacular transaction of the kind ever undertaken in New Zealand". The land, which extended from the Hurunui River in the south, the Waiau River in the north, the Lowry Peaks range to the west and the Pacific Ocean coastline to the east, amounted to . Only the Glenmark station of George Henry Moore was more valuable. Robinson represented the Amuri electorate on the second Nelson Provincial Council from 5 October 1857 until 2 April 1859. Between 1859 and 1866, the Robinsons lived in England. He pursued his hobby of horse racing during that time. In Panama on his journey back to New Zealand, he met and employed Simon Cedeno and employed him as his butler. It was fashionable in Europe at the time to have a coloured staff member. Back in New Zealand, Robinson lived part of the time in Christchurch, and part of the time on his Cheviot Hills estate.