William Finlay (mayor)
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - William Finlay (mayor)
OR:
William Finlay (mayor) on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

William Finlay (22 February 1840 18 June 1886) was a policeman and the first mayor of Albany in the Great Southern region 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 ...
.


Parents

Finlay's parents were William and Marjory Finlay. His father, William Finlay (5 June 1807 11 June 1890) was born in
Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
in 1807. He served in the army and rose to the rank of
sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
. William Jr. was born in 1840 in Ireland.


Early life

The Finlays, both parents and three children, arrived in Western Australia aboard the convict ship '' Scindian'' in 1850 and initially settled at
Freshwater Bay Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
. Another five children were born in Western Australia over the next few years.


Police

Finlay joined the police force in 1858; he served as a
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
in Albany in 1864, moving to Williams in 1869, then to
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 ...
in 1873 and then to
Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...
in 1874. He rose to the rank of
sub-inspector Sub-inspector (SI), or sub-inspector of police, is a rank used extensively in South Asia: in the police forces of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which is primarily based on the British model. It was formerly used in most British col ...
in Albany in 1878. During his time in the force he married Sarah Coppin in
Busselton Busselton is a city in the South West region of the state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destination for Western Australians; however, the closure of the Busselton ...
in 1861.


Albany

Finlay resigned from the force in 1878 and was well remembered for his charitable work, administration skills and founding a local militia. He remained in Albany working as a clerk of customs and a tide waiter and also served as a municipal councillor. He was elected as the first mayor of Albany in 1885. The other candidates in the election were John Moir and
Robert Andrew Muir Robert Andrew Muir (20 June 1821 18 August 1904) was a merchant and politician who served as the mayor of Albany, Western Australia. Muir was born in Fife, Scotland on 20 June 1821; his family emigrated to Western Australia when he was a young ...
. Finlay's home in Albany, known as McKenzie House or the White House, a grand
federation style Federation architecture is the architectural style in Australia that was prevalent from around 1890 to 1915. The name refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the Australian colonies collectively became the Commonwealth of ...
building overlooking Albany Port, is a still a local landmark.


See also

*
List of mayors of Albany, Western Australia The City of Albany is a local government area in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. It has been led by mayors including: :1885 William Finlay, the inaugural mayor of Albany :1886 to 1888 William Grills Knight :1888 Lancel ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, William 1840 births 1885 deaths Irish emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians Mayors of Albany, Western Australia