Robert Henry Williams (2 June 1870 – 17 March 1938) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

to American-born

grain merchant The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

Robert Williams and Fanny Kendall. He attended state school and worked for his father before following the gold rush to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in the 1890s. Having been unsuccessful, he returned to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and became a caterer and hotelier. He served on South Melbourne City Council from 1921 to 1932 and was mayor from 1927 to 1928. In 1922 he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative C ...

as a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

member for

Melbourne West Province Melbourne West Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1904 until 2006. It was created in June 1904 when Melbourne Province was reduced in size (four members down to two), North Yarra Province and South Yarra Pro ...

. He was a minister without portfolio from 1927 to 1928 and from 1929 to 1931, and Minister of Forests and Public Health from 1931 to 1932. He was Minister of Public Works, Mines and Immigration and Minister of Labour in 1932, but later that year was expelled from the Labor Party after supporting the

Premiers' Plan The Premiers' Plan was a deflationary economic policy agreed by a meeting of the Premiers of the Australian states in June 1931 to combat the Great Depression in Australia that sparked the 1931 Labor split. Background The Great Depression ...

. He remained in the Council as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

until he was killed in a car crash at

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

in 1938.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Robert 1870 births 1938 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Independent members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council