Wright was born in
Woolwich,
Kent, England, in 1831. After an education in private schools, he worked for
Fox, Henderson and Co. He was the engineer for the gasworks in
Rome and then worked on the naval dockyards at
Royal Arsenal in
Woolwich and then
Aldershot. He married in September 1854 at London and went to New Zealand with his wife and their first two sons in 1857, with another one born in their chosen country. In Canterbury, he was responsible for many of the engineering works, especially bridges. He unsuccessfully contested the for . In the , he contested the electorate, but was defeated by
Edwin Blake. He was successful again in the in the Ashburton electorate. In the , he was defeated in the electorate. He was once again successful in the in the Ashburton electorate. He retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1899. He was buried at Windermere Church. ==References==