William Little (1839–1916) was an Australian politician and poet.

Biography

Early life

William Little was born on 7 February 1839 in Cumberland, Cumbria, England.AustLit
/ref> He emigrated to Australia with his family in 1851, arriving at

Corio Bay Corio Bay is one of numerous internal bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay. Etymology When Hamilton Hume and Willi ...

when he was twelve years old. Two years later, at the age of fourteen, he got his first job as a messenger in the

Geelong Customs House The Geelong Customs House is a bluestone and freestone classical style public building in Geelong, Victoria Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at ...

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

and later worked as a clerk for Mr James Oddie. He graduated from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

Career

From 1880 onwards, he worked as an auctioneer, a real estate agent, and an insurance and finance agent in Ballarat.History of Bartrop Real Estate
/ref> Additionally, he served as a Justice of the Peace. He then served as a City Councillor from 1883 to 1892 and as Mayor of Ballarat from 1889 to 1891. As Mayor, on Arbour Day 1890, he added 1,250 trees to

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

. He also served as a lay preacher in the

Wesleyan Church The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, L ...

, and he was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

He became a prolific poet, writing under the pen-name of 'Lambda'. He also published short stories, an essay, historical articles and guidebooks.

Personal life

He married Catherine Walford Cazaly.

Death

He died on 2 October 1916 in Ballarat.

References