William Field Porter (24 January 1784 – 30 March 1869) was a ship owner from Liverpool, who migrated to South Australia in 1838. He relocated to Auckland in 1841, where he became a member of the New Zealand Parliament. Early life Porter was born in London in 1784. He was orphaned by 1796 and it is likely he commenced his career at sea shortly after. His first command was , sailing in the Liverpool to Barbados trade. Her owners, Barton, Irlam and Higginson specialized in that trade. Later, in the War of 1812, Tiger, still under Porter's command, was granted a letter of marque to operate offensively, not just defensively, against American shipping. Tiger, in company with , also a vessel that Barton, Irlam and Higginson owned, captured three American ships in 1813 as the two British ships were returning to England from Barbados. In 1810, he married Alice Roper (1790–1862) in Liverpool, with whom he had four children. His only daughter, Alice, married fellow coastal trader John Salmon in 1853. On 29 November 1811 Captain Porter stood trial at London for having taken on board Tiger at Carlisle Bay, Barbados, two deserters from the Royal Navy and having concealed them when the Navy sent a Lieutenant to look for them. (Apparently he had concealed more than two, but the charges only related to two.) Porter was found guilty and fined £500 and to be held at Newgate for 12 months or until he had paid his fine. It is not clear who paid the fine, if they did, and whether Porter spent any time in prison. Porter became a prominent sea captain, operating a small fleet out of his own yard at Liverpool. Other members of the Porter family sailed for the British East India Company (e.g. his cousin, George Porter). Australia In the late 1830s he suffered substantial losses at sea, which his son said were behind his decision to migrate. Porter sold his shipyard in Liverpool and took two of his ships, Porter, and Dorset, provisioned with livestock and a range of personnel (including a doctor, tutors and servants), so that he could set up a relatively self-sufficient farming station in South Australia. He was accompanied by his wife, a son and daughter, William and Alice and an adult son Richard and his wife. Porter himself captained his namesake, Porter (a 252-ton (bm) brig), which he had