William Lavington Marchant (30 May 1828 – 1889) was a pastoralist and businessman in

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 ...

. Marchant was born in Freashford in Somerset in 1828 and arrived in Australia aboard the ''Fairlie'' in 1840. He arrived with his father, William L. Marchant Snr, who died shortly after arriving, his mother and five brothers. His brother, Thomas Balne Marchant, established the Mannanarie run initially as a

cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stat ...

but eventually changed to become a

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

in the 1840s. After the death of Thomas in 1852 and a new lease was issued to William in 1854. Marchant introduced

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

cattle and

Clydesdale horse The Clydesdale is a Scottish breed of draught horse. It is named for its area of origin, the Clydesdale or valley of the River Clyde, much of which is within the county of Lanarkshire. The origins of the breed lie in the eighteenth century, ...

s to South Australia and was involved in many stations in the north of South Australia including Mannanarie, Edeowie, Aroona and Burnside Station. He eventually retired to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and returned to England, where he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchant, William 1828 births 1883 deaths Australian pastoralists 19th-century Australian businesspeople