William Benjamin Walker (1820 - 9 January 1889) was a politician, merchant, pastoralist and yachtsman from

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. Walker was the second son of William Walker, a prominent merchant in early colonial Australia. Walker was originally a pastoralist, operating a series of stations in the Bega region, based out of the Kamarooka Estate. He was later a merchant in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, operating the firm of William Walker & Co. He built and lived in the '' Redleaf'' mansion at

Double Bay Double Bay is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Municipality of ...

, which he named after his parents' house in England. The property survives, and now serves as the council chambers for the

Municipality of Woollahra Woollahra Municipal Council (or Woollahra Council) is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is bounded by Port J ...

. He served in 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 ...

from 1863 until his resignation in 1867. He was involved in the establishment of the

Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron is a yacht club located in North Sydney, Australia in the suburb of Kirribilli. The squadron was founded in 1862. It has occupied its grounds in East Kirribilli, near Kirribilli House, since 1902. History The R ...

in 1863, and served as its Commodore until resigning in 1867; he was reportedly departing permanently for England. In 1870, he was reported to have been cruising the Mediterranean and to be preparing for the racing season in England. He had also been president of the Anniversary Regatta Committee. He was married to Corentia (née Browne), sister of

Rolf Boldrewood Thomas Alexander Browne (born Brown, 6 August 1826 – 11 March 1915) was an Australian author who published many of his works under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood. He is best known for his 1882 bushranging novel ''Robbery Under Arms''. Biogra ...

. Their second son, Cecil, died in the shipwreck of the ''Avalanche'' off

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in 1877. Walker died in .

References

1820 births 1889 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian male sailors (sport) 19th-century Australian politicians Place of birth missing {{Australia-politician-stub