William Cameron (6 July 1877 – 6 May 1931) was an Australian politician.

Life and career

Cameron was born at Rouchel Brook, south-east of

Scone A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component ...

, to grazier Donald Cameron and Elizabeth, ''née'' McMullen. After serving in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

, he settled near Scone as a grazier and became active in the local community, serving on the Upper Hunter Pastoral Protection Board, the Graziers' Association and Upper Hunter Shire Council and supporting the

New England New State Movement The New England New State Movement was an Australian political movement in the twentieth century. Founded as the Northern Separation Movement, the aim of the movement was to seek the secession of the New England region and surrounding areas f ...

. He was well known in the district as a cricketer, a clever leg-spin bowler and big-hitting batsman. He toured Ceylon with a New South Wales cricket team led by Mick Waddy in 1914. He was the leading bowler on the tour, taking 36 wickets at an average of 6.80. In 1918 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 ...

as the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

member for

Upper Hunter The Upper Hunter Shire is a local government area in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in May 2004 from the Scone Shire and parts of Murrurundi and Merriwa shires. The Mayor of the Upper Hunter Shir ...

. He was one of the members of

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

while

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

was used from 1920 to 1927, and represented Upper Hunter again from 1927 until his death in

Muswellbrook Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney basin, bordering the New Engla ...

in 1931. He left a wife and six children.

References

1877 births 1931 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian soldiers New South Wales local councillors New South Wales cricketers {{Australia-Nationalist-politician-stub