William Elliot Veitch Robson (23 March 1869 – 29 June 1951) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

parliamentarian and businessman.

Early life

Robson was born at

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surroun ...

, the son of the politician William Robson. He attended

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1882–1886) and then the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

from where he graduated with a BA in 1889. After serving as an articled clerk he was admitted as a solicitor in 1892. His partnerships were Wallace & Robson and Robson & Cowlishaw. Robson married Ettie Gorman Cusack Whyte in 1894 but she died childless in 1899 and two years later he married Mabel Jackson Wise.

Political career

Robson served as an alderman on Ashfield council for ten years from 1898 and was elected mayor in 1899. In August 1905 he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member for Ashfield in 1905. He was vocal during the debate on the local government in 1906 and throughout the

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

coal dispute of 1909. In 1920 Robson resigned as an MLA and moved to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

, where he was a member for 31 years.

Business career

* Chairman - Commercial Union Assurance Co. Ltd * Chairman - R. H. Gordon & Co. Ltd * Director - Larke, Hoskins, & Co. Ltd * Director - Larke, Neave and Carter Pty Ltd * Director - Grenville Motors Pty Ltd

Church involvement

Robson was an active

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Church and attended numerous State annual conferences. He was a council-member of

Wesley College, University of Sydney Wesley College is a co-residential college of 265 students within the University of Sydney. The college occupies a site on the main campus of the University of Sydney and was built on a sub-grant of Crown land. Wesley is one of six on-campus co ...

and Newington College and a committee-member of the Sydney Central Methodist Mission. From 1924 until 1927 he was a director of the

Benevolent Society of New South Wales The Benevolent Society, founded by Edward Smith Hall in 1813, is Australia's first and oldest charity. The society is an independent, not-for-profit organization whose main goals include helping families, older Australians and people with disabili ...

Private life

He was a member of the

Australian Club The Australian Club is a private club founded in 1838 and located in Sydney at 165 Macquarie Street. Its membership is men-only and it is the oldest gentlemen's club in the southern hemisphere. "The Club provides excellent dining facilities, ...

, University Club and Schools Club and in 1902 and 1905 served as President of the Old Newingtonians' Union.Newington Across the Years, A History of Newington College 1863 - 1998 (Syd, 1999) pp 347 Robson was survived by his second wife and their daughter and two sons when he died at home in Rose Bay. His son, Murray Robson, served as

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the NSW Parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robson, William 1869 births 1951 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Members of Newington College Council Australian Methodists People educated at Newington College Old Newingtonians' Union presidents Mayors of Ashfield Colony of New South Wales people