Artist and explorer. Son of Col W S and Maria Louisa Pillans. Came to Otago with his mother in 1867 after his father's death, and managed Manuka Island Station for his uncle Francis Pillans (1810-1889). In 1886 with Thomas Mackenzie and others he explored the Tahakopa estuary and Tautuku bush area. In 1888 they travelled by ship to Milford Sound to seek an overland route to Te Anau. In 1893 Mackenzie and Pillans took part in an unsuccesful search for Quintin McKinnon, and in 1894 searched for a route to the West Coast from the head of Lake Manapouri. Pillans Head in the Catlins and Pillans Pass and Pillans Peak in Fiordland are named after him. His drawings appeared in the Otago Witness. A skilled woodcarver he carved an eagle for the lectern in St Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin. He later lived at Otumoetai, Tauranga, where Pillans Road and Pillans Point are named after him. [Source: Southern people; a dictionary of Otago Southland biography, 1998]
Pillans, William Soltau, 1849-1915
Pillans, William Soltau, 1849-1915 :From Saddle at head of Cockburn, looking towards Du...
Date: 1896 - 1898
From: Sturtevant, George Neville, 1858-1937 :[Collection of views of scenic areas of New Zealand. 1896-1900]
By: Sturtevant, George Neville, 1858-1937; Pillans, William Soltau, 1849-1915
Reference: E-141-q-021
Description: A rocky mountain saddle in the foreground, with ranges of bush-clad and rocky hills in the background Copied by G N Sturtevant from a drawing by W S Pillans While there appears to be no longer a Cockburn Saddle (or mountain), Cockburn Stream in the Townley Mountains lies east of the head of Dusky Sound Extended Title - George Neville Sturtevant Inscriptions: Recto - bottom left - Signed: G.N.S. 96. Quantity: 1 b&w photo-mechanical print(s). Physical Description: Photolithograph, 132 x 201 mm
New Zealand. Department of Lands and Survey : Map of explorations - Supplied by Thomas ...
Date: 1894
From: New Zealand Geographic Board: Selection of maps of New Zealand
By: New Zealand Geographic Board; New Zealand. Department of Lands and Survey; Mackenzie, Thomas Noble (Rt Hon Sir), 1853-1930; Pillans, William Soltau, 1849-1915
Reference: MapColl-NZGB-4/23/305/Acc.54991
Description: Map of Explorations - Supplied by Thos Mackenzie M.H.R. & W S Pillans. Photolithographed at the Head Office, Lands and Survey Department, Wellington, N.Z., June 1894. Map covers a part of Fiordland north-east of Dusky Sound, land between the Mt Crowfoot, Braaan Mountains, Dingwall Mountains, Matterhorn Mountains, and the kilcoy Mountains. Printed note attached to a mark near Mt Plaisted reads "Place where Proft Brown was last seen". Quantity: 1 map(s). Physical Description: Printed map on linen-backed paper, scale 3 miles to 1 inch, 21 x 23 cm
[New Zealand. Department of Lands and Survey] : Map of Explorations Western Otago [map]...
Date: 1888 - 1896
From: New Zealand Geographic Board: Selection of maps of New Zealand
By: Grant, Thomas Muir, 1858-1907; Mackenzie, Thomas Noble (Rt Hon Sir), 1853-1930; McKinnon, Quintin McPherson, 1851-1892; New Zealand Geographic Board; New Zealand. Department of Lands and Survey; Pillans, William Soltau, 1849-1915; Ross, Malcolm, 1862-1930
Reference: MapColl-NZGB-4/25/321/Acc.55007
Description: Map of Explorations Western Otago. Manapouri to Deep Cover by T Mackenzie M.H.R., Malcolm Ross, & Q. McKinnon, 1888; Manapouri to Seaforth by T Mackenzie M.H.R., & W. S. Pillans, 1894; from Dusky Sound by T. Mackenzie M.H.R. 1896. Drawn by T M Grant, July 1896. Inset map 'Sketch of Fiord details'. Quantity: 1 map(s). Physical Description: Printed map on linen-backed paper, 42 x 40 cm
New Zealand. Department of Lands and Survey : Map of Explorations Western Otago [map]. ...
Date: 1894
From: New Zealand Geographic Board: Selection of maps of New Zealand
By: New Zealand Geographic Board; New Zealand. Department of Lands and Survey; Mackenzie, Thomas Noble (Rt Hon Sir), 1853-1930; Pillans, William Soltau, 1849-1915
Reference: MapColl-NZGB-4/25/332/Acc.55018
Description: Map of explorations Western Otago by Thomas Mackenzie M.H.R. & W S Pillans. Lithographed at the Head Office, Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington, N.Z. October 1894. Quantity: 1 map(s). Physical Description: Printed map on linen-backed paper, scale 1 mile to 1 inch, 66 x 58 cm