William John Turner Clarke, M.L.C. (20 April 1805 – 13 January 1874), was an Australian politician, member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

November 1856 to January 1861 and January 1863 to November 1870. Clarke was born in

Somersetshire ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, the second son of William Clarke, of St. Botolph,

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

, London, and Sarah ''nee'' Turner, of Weston Zoyland, in Somersetshire. His father died, and he was raised by his uncle "Clarke, William John 1902" http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/clarke-william-john-1902 Health issues (a weak chest and a malformed hip) forced him to immigrate, and he settled in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in 1840, and subsequently acquired extensive pastoral property in that colony, and in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Clarke was member for the Southern Province in the Legislative Council. Clarke married Eliza, daughter of the Reverend George Pyke Dowling, of Puckington, Somerset, and Anne Biggs his wife, of an old and wealthy family of Bristol merchants, and had issue three sons — William John Clarke; Thomas Biggs Clarke, who was endowed with his father's Quorn Hall and Brambletye properties in Tasmania; and Joseph Clarke, who inherited the paternal estates in South Australia, New Zealand, and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Known generally as 'Big' Clarke and 'Moneyed' Clarke, he was widely known for his land hunger. He did not engage in agriculture but stuck to the 'raising of sheep' as a 'better paying game'. He introduced the Leicester breed of sheep into Australia. The gold rush further increased his prosperity and meat sales boomed. The money received from his wool clips was lent at high interest to Australian import houses. He made numerous generous large donations to various charities. In time he acquired the reputation of being the richest man in Australia, this being regarded as a consequence of what his obituaries term 'parsimonious habits'. He was such a large man that 8 people were needed to carry him around on a reinforced Eucalypt pine/oak litter. Clarke died in

Essendon, Victoria Essendon is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Essendon recorded a population of 21,240 at the 2021 census. Essen ...

on 13 January 1874.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, William John Turner 1805 births 1874 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians English emigrants to colonial Australia Politicians from Somerset