William Burges (1806 or 1808 – 16 October 1876) was an early settler in

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 ...

who became a pastoralist and a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

. Born in Fethard,

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1806 or 1808, William Burges was a brother of John Major Burges (c. 1805–?), Samuel Burges (1810–1885) and Lockier Clere Burges (senior) (1814–1886). William was also an uncle of

Thomas Burges Thomas Burges (July 1830 – 7 August 1893) was an Australian pastoralist and politician who was a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia on three occasions – from 1874 to 1878, from 1885 to 1887, and from 1890 until his deat ...

Richard Goldsmith Burges Richard Goldsmith Burges (4 December 1847 – 25 September 1905) was an Australian pastoralist and politician who served in both houses of the Parliament of Western Australia. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1894 to 1903, and t ...

and Lockier Clere Burges (junior) (1841–1929). In 1830, William Burges and his brothers Samuel and Lockier emigrated to Western Australia on board the ''Warrior''. Until 1837 they farmed together in the Upper Swan district. In 1837 the brothers obtained land at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. They named their homestead ''Tipperary''. Burges travelled to Ireland in 1841, and returned to York in 1844. In 1846 he was appointed a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. Appointed secretary of the

York Agricultural Society York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...

in 1847, he was closely involved in that body's ultimately successful petition for Western Australia to become a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

. In 1850, he moved to the

Champion Bay Champion Bay is a coastal feature north of Geraldton, Western Australia, facing the port and city between Point Moore and Bluff Point. Champion Bay was named by Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of , who surveyed the area in April 1840. He named ...

district, establishing the ''Bowes'' homestead. From 1851 to 1860 he was resident magistrate for his district, and in 1853 he was sub-collector of customs and visiting magistrate for the convict depot at

Port Gregory Gregory (Port Gregory until 1967) is a small town and fishing port located northwest of the mouth of the Hutt River, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. At the 2016 census, Gregory had a population of 64 in 83 dwellings. Most of the ...

. He returned to Ireland in 1860, but revisited Western Australia in 1868 and 1875. In November 1875, he was nominated to the Legislative Council. He held the seat until his resignation in July 1876. He returned to Ireland shortly afterwards, dying at Fethard on 16 October. He was unmarried.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burges, William 1800s births 1876 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Settlers of Western Australia Year of birth uncertain 19th-century Australian politicians