William Caldwell Hill (14 April 1866 – 15 November 1939) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1919 to 1934. He was Minister for Works and Railways in the Bruce–Page government from 1924 to 1928.

Early life

Hill was born on 14 April 1866 at Burnt Creek near

Dunolly, Victoria Dunolly is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Dunolly - Maryborough Road, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. At the 2016 census, Dunolly had a population of 893, down from 969 in 2006. History The town began during the Victorian ...

. He was the son of English immigrants Sarah (née Baker) and John Hill; his mother was illiterate. His father and uncle ran the local flour mill, but after the mill burned down the family moved to

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to take up a

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of uncleared forest. Hill was educated at a part-time school in Stradbroke before joining the clerical division of

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

. He served as stationmaster at Elphinstone, during which time he would walk several miles to Castlemaine to attend evening classes. He married Lucy Shields in 1892; her father Edward Shields was mayor of Chewton. Following the death of his father-in-law, Hill left the railways to manage the family's

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in Chewton. He served on the Chewton Borough Council from 1900 to 1906 and was secretary of the Castlemaine Rifle Clubs' Union.

Farming

In 1906, Hill took up a portion of David Mitchell's subdivided estate at

Colbinabbin Colbinabbin is a town in central Victoria, Australia. The name is derived from aboriginal meaning "the meeting of the black and red soils". At the , Colbinabbin and the surrounding area had a population of 297. History Located on the banks of C ...

. He served as the secretary of the Colbinabbin Progress Association and in 1915 was elected secretary of the Wheat Pool Vigilance Committee, formed by farmers concerned that the government and wheat merchants were conspiring to reduce the price of wheat. In 1916, Hill was elected as the founding president of the

Victorian Farmers' Union The Victorian Farmers' Union (VFU) was an association of farmers and primary producers formed in 1914 in the Australian state of Victoria. Although initially formed as an "absolutely non-political" entity, the VFU became a political party in 1916 ...

(VFU). He was also a delegate to the Australian Farmers' Federal Organization, a member of the Victorian Wheat Commission's advisory council, a growers' representative on the Australian Wheat Board, and chairman of the ''Farmers' Advocate'' newspaper published in Melbourne. He led a movement to supply cheaper

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to farmers and served as chairman of the Phosphate Co-operative Company of Australia.

Politics

On 20 September 1919, at the by-election caused by the death of Albert Palmer, he won the House of Representatives

Division of Echuca The Division of Echuca was an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. It was abolished in 1937. It ...

as a

candidate. In 1920 he helped form the Country Party. From 8 August 1924 to 29 November 1928 he was Minister for Works and Railways in the Bruce–Page government. During his period of office he commenced the standardisation of the railway gauges by the construction of the North Coast railway line from

Kyogle Kyogle () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It falls within the local government area of Kyogle Council. At the 2016 census, Kyogle had a population of 2,751 people. Kyogle is known as a "gateway" ...

, to

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisba ...

, the construction of the rail line from Oodnadatta, South Australia, to Alice Springs by

Commonwealth Railways The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australia and Port Augusta to Darwin railways. It was absorbed into Australian National in 1975. O ...

, the introduction of a Federal aid road scheme—which provided funding to the states for road construction—and the building of the

Hume Dam Hume Dam, formerly the Hume Weir, is a major dam across the Murray River downstream of its junction with the Mitta River in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose includes flood mitigation, hydro-power, irrigation, ...

, which he promoted as president of the inter-governmental River Murray Water Commission. He retired from Parliament on 7 August 1934, because he was unwilling to sign a pledge to vote in parliament as instructed by his party, and he was succeeded as the member for Echuca by

John McEwen Sir John McEwen, (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Australia, holding office from 1967 to 1968 in a caretaker capacity after the disappearance of Harold Holt. He was the ...

, future leader of the Federal Country Party.

Later life

Hill died at

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, survived by his wife Bella and by six children.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, William Caldwell National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Echuca Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1866 births 1939 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians Colony of Victoria people