William Alston Hutchinson (26 March 1839 – 20 June 1897) was an English-born Australian politician, manufacturer, merchant and colliery director. He was born at

Garrigill Garrigill, Cumbria is a small village in the North Pennine region of the UK, situated on the banks and close to the source of the River South Tyne. Historically part of Cumberland, today it is within the Garrigill ward of the civil parish of Al ...

near

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

to storekeeper Thomas Hutchinson and Jane Phillipson. He attended Alston Grammar School and migrated to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1857, goldmining at

Castlemaine Castlemaine may mean: * Castlemaine, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia ** Castlemaine Football Club, an Australian rules football club ** Castlemaine railway station * Castlemaine, County Kerry, a town in Ireland * Castlemaine Brewery, Western ...

and

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

. In 1860 he moved to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and in 1861 he married Barbara Telena Steel, with whom he had eight children. He moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1872, where he became a soap and candle merchant. He was a Balmain alderman from 1878 and later mayor; he was also an alderman of the

Municipality of The Glebe The Municipality of The Glebe was a Local government in Australia, local government area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed on 1 August 1859 and, with an area of 2 square kilometres, included the modern suburbs ...

from 1893 until 1897, serving as mayor from 12 February 1894 until February 1896. In 1882 he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

for Balmain, but he did not re-contest in 1885. Hutchinson died at Glebe Point in 1897.

References

1839 births 1897 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Mayors of Balmain Mayors of The Glebe 19th-century Australian politicians People from Alston Moor {{Australia-politician-stub