William Hutchison (1841 – 15 August 1914), born near

Moonee Ponds Moonee Ponds is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Moonee Ponds recorded a population of 16,224 at the 20 ...

, Victoria, was a horse breeder and pastoralist in the South East of South Australia, remembered for his successful libel suit against the proprietors and editor of

The Narracoorte Herald ''The Naracoorte Herald'' is a weekly newspaper first published in Naracoorte, South Australia on 14 December 1875. It was later sold to Rural Press, previously owned by Fairfax Media, but now an Australian media company trading as Australian Commu ...

. His father John Hutchison ( – 1843) of

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, Scotland arrived in Melbourne, Victoria in December 1839, by the ship St. Mungo, and took up land there for a cattle station. His father died and his mother (née McKenzie) married Andrew Dunn (1819 – 12 December 1901) and moved to Dunnoo Dunnoo near

Edenhope, Victoria Edenhope is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Wimmera Highway, 30 kilometres from the South Australian border, in the Shire of West Wimmera local government area. At the Edenhope had a population of 946. The township of Eden ...

. After a dispute with neighbors regarding the legality of the land they were occupying, they moved in 1848 to Barooka, near

Kingston SE Kingston SE (Kingston South East to distinguish it from Kingston-on-Murray) formerly Kingston is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east coastline on the shores of Lacepede Bay. It is located about ...

in South Australia. Around 1850 they moved to Woolmit, previously known as Biscuit Flat, from

Robe A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils" ...

. William was educated at John Whinham's

North Adelaide Grammar School North Adelaide Grammar School, later Whinham College was a private school operated in North Adelaide, South Australia by John Whinham (3 August 1803 – 13 March 1886) and his family. History John Whinham The founder of the school was born at Sh ...

. In 1862 Hutchison and Dunn purchased Murra Binna station from "Tommy" Woods, and ran that property, where he was a successful racehorse breeder and

Adam Lindsay Gordon Adam Lindsay Gordon (19 October 1833 – 24 June 1870) was a British-Australian poet, horseman, police officer and politician. He was the first Australian poet to gain considerable recognition overseas, and according to his contemporary, writer ...

was a frequent visitor. In 1876 they purchased Morambro station of from the Oliver brothers. Hutchison acquired considerable additional property by the illegal process known as " dummying", using third parties who owned no property to "select" Government land secretly on his behalf. George Ash, of

in an editorial questioned his fitness to hold the position of

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 ...

, and was successfully (and ruinously) sued by Hutchison, whose lawyer, Josiah Symon, QC conducted a masterfully technical case against Ash, which rendered practically all his evidence, including Crown Law documents and

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official print ...

inadmissible. Hutchison, who was badly affected by the Depression of the early 1890s, left Morambro for Victoria around 1895, settled in

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...

, and died in

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

Family

Hutchison married Harriett Reid (c. 1840 – 21 September 1880) on 10 May 1864. Harriett was a sister of the Rev. Richardson Reid, of

Trinity Church, Adelaide Trinity Church Adelaide, formerly known as Holy Trinity Church and later Trinity City, is an Australian evangelical Anglican church located at 88 North Terrace in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1836, it is one of th ...

. They had five sons: *William John Reid Hutchison (9 April 1873 – ) married Annie Elizabeth Cooke ( – ) on 28 April 1896, lived at

Magill, South Australia Magill is a suburb of Adelaide straddling the City of Burnside and City of Campbelltown council jurisdictions, approximately 7 km from the Adelaide CBD. It incorporates the suburb previously known as Koongarra Park. History Magill was f ...

*J. R. Hutchison, of

Padthaway, South Australia Padthaway is a small town in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east within the Limestone Coast region about south east of the state capital of Adelaide and about south-east of the municipal seat of Borderto ...

*A. R. Hutchison, of Narracoorte *Egbert William "Bert" Hutchison ( – 14 August 1925) of Melbourne *A. J. Hutchison of Narracoorte He married again, to Julia Reid ( – 24 January 1916) on 6 September 1881. Julia was the widow of Inspector Reid, and had a daughter Alice Ann Reid ( – ), who married John Thomas Morris of Kalangadoo on 20 January 1887.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchison, William Australian pastoralists Australian racehorse owners and breeders 1841 births 1914 deaths 19th-century Australian businesspeople People from Victoria (state) Australian people of Scottish descent