Born in 1907 at Bulls, Ormond Wilson was a former Labour MP for Rangitikei (1935-1938) and Palmerston North (1946-1949). He developed his property at Mt Lees into a plantation of native and exotic trees (now the Mt Lees Bush Reserve). He was the former chairman of the Historic Places Trust (1958-1970). For more details see Evening Standard 30 October 1982, p 1. See also his autobiography An Outsider Looks Back. Wilson was awarded a CMG (Companion in The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George) in 1979 for services to the community. He died in Bowen Hospital on 17 April 1988, after having suffered a stroke earlier.