William Taylor (20 November 1818 – 21 June 1903) was a pastoralist and politician in colonial

Victoria (Australia) Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

, a 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 ...

. Taylor was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Lanarkshire, Scotland, the son of William Taylor, a merchant, and Martha, ''nee'' Kirkwood. Taylor junior was educated at the

High School of Glasgow The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the choir school of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, and is the oldest school in Scotland, and the ...

. Taylor decided to emigrate and arrived in the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

on 7 August 1840. Taylor was elected to the seat of

Wimmera The Wimmera is a region of the Australian state of Victoria. The district is located within parts of the Loddon Mallee and the Grampians regions; and covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Aust ...

in on 16 August 1854, replacing

William Splatt William Francis Splatt (14 April 1811 – 17 October 1893) was born in Devon, England. In 1841 he emigrated to Australia and became a member of the first Legislative Council of Victoria, Australia. He returned to England a wealthy man in 1854, ...

who resigned. Taylor was sworn-in in September remained a member until the original Council was abolished in March 1856. Taylor was elected to the Southern Province of the new Legislative Council in April 1864, a seat he held until September 1866. Taylor was president of the Keilor shire council 1874–1882 and 1884–1894. Taylor was a director of the Union Mortgage & Agency Co.; he also was a member of the

Ormond College Ormond College is the largest of the residential colleges of the University of Melbourne located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is home to around 350 undergraduates, 90 graduates and 35 professorial and academic residents. H ...

council, donating £200 and creating a scholarship for the College. Taylor died in

Keilor, Victoria Keilor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Brimbank and Hume local government areas. Keilor recorded a population of 5,906 at the 2021 census. Whil ...

, Australia, on 21 June 1903; he was survived by his wife, six sons and four daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, William 1818 births 1903 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Scottish emigrants to Australia Politicians from Glasgow 19th-century Australian politicians