William Alexander (December 1844 – 27 May 1924) was an Australian businessman and politician who was a member of the Legislative Council of

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 ...

from 1895 to 1898. Alexander was born in Dunnichen,

Forfarshire Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agri ...

, Scotland. He came to Australia in 1866, and initially lived in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, where he had interests in various mining ventures. In 1873, Alexander set up in Toowoomba as a storekeeper and draper. Having made two previous visits, he moved to Western Australia permanently in 1891, and settled in Geraldton, where he had a store. Alexander was elected to parliament at an 1895 Legislative Council by-election for Central Province, which had been necessitated by the death of

Ernest Henty Ernest George Henty (17 September 1862 – 25 June 1895) was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1894 to 1895. Born in Albury, New South Wales on 17 September 1862, Ernest Henty was the son of squatter Richmond Henty, wh ...

. He served out the remainder of Henty's term, but did not recontest his seat at the 1898 election. After leaving parliament, Alexander ran a drapery in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

until 1903, and thereafter concentrated on his mining investments. He returned to Queensland in 1913, and died there in 1924, aged 79.William Alexander
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 11 June 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, William 1844 births 1924 deaths Australian businesspeople Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Angus, Scotland Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia