William Paterson (4 June 1847 – 11 March 1920) was an Australian politician and businessman in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. He was a member of the unicameral Legislative Council from 1889 until its dissolution the following year, and then a member of the newly created Legislative Assembly from 1890 to 1895.

Early life

Paterson was born in Pinjarra, in Western Australia's Peel region. He was educated in Fremantle and at Bishop Hale's School in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, and was then sent to a private school in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England, where he stayed from 1862 to 1864. In 1872, after their father's death, Paterson and his brother took over the family property at Pinjarra. He was elected to the Murray Road Board in 1875, and remained a member until 1895. In 1886, Paterson relocated from Pinjarra to Jarrahdale, living on the property that would eventually become the

Whitby Falls Hospital Whitby Falls Hospital is a former hospital for the mentally ill located in Mundijong, Western Australia. Until its closure in 2006 it was the longest operating facility in Western Australia for the care and treatment of mental illness. History ...

.William Paterson
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 6 June 2016.

Politics

Paterson was elected to the Legislative Council in 1889, following the resignation of Theodore Fawcett, and held the seat of Murray and Williams until the council was reformed following the advent of responsible government in 1890. At the 1890 general election, he was elected to the new Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Murray. He retained Murray at the 1894 election.

Later years

Paterson resigned from parliament in February 1895 to become the managing trustee of the

Agricultural Bank of Western Australia Bankwest is an Australian full-service bank based in Perth, Western Australia. It was sold in October 2008 to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for 2.1 billion and operates as a division of its parent company. Bankwest previously had branch ...

, and the following year moved to what is now

Mosman Park Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local gov ...

(a western suburb of Perth). In 1901, he was elected to the Buckland Hill Road Board. Paterson eventually retired to South Perth. He died in March 1920, aged 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, William 1847 births 1920 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People educated at Hale School People from Pinjarra, Western Australia Western Australian local councillors