William Ardagh Gardner Walter (13 August 1860 – 10 March 1940) was

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

, Western Australia. William enjoyed his education at Taunton College School and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. At Oxford he shone at

Rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

, cycling and as a rower in the Eight for

Exeter College Boat Club Exeter College Boat Club (ECBC) is the boat club of Exeter College, Oxford, England. The club trains on the Thames on the Isis stretch in Oxford and at Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The Boat Club competes primarily in Torpids and Summer Eights bu ...

. In 1885 William migrated to

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 ...

where initially he bought a farm at Tanjanerup near Nannup, which he sold a few years later in order to enter government service in 1891. He held several magistrate positions in the Western Australian goldfield in places like Murchison, Blackwood and

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, eventually becoming first magistrate at Kalgoorlie in 1913. In March 1918 he fined the leader of the parliamentary opposition and future Western Australian Premier

Philip Collier Philip Collier (21 April 1873 – 18 October 1948) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th Premier of Western Australia from 1924 to 1930 and from 1933 to 1936. He was leader of the Labor Party from 1917 to 1936, and is Western Aus ...

£25 for declarations 'likely to cause disaffection' during the conscription plebiscite. The fine was later remitted and costs refunded in an undefended action before the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

. In 1920 he left the goldfields to become magistrate in Perth. He remained there until May 1924 when he was compulsorily retired by the newly elected Collier Labor government. Collier was blamed for victimization, but the administration remained adamant. Like in England, Walter was also an avid sportsman in Australia, playing tennis and cricket. Later on he also coached women scullers on the Swan River and was a member of the

Western Australian Turf Club The Western Australian Turf Club (WATC), later known as Perth Racing, was established in late nineteenth century as an elite social institution and administrator of the Western Australian horse racing industry. They manage two racecourses in P ...

. He served as a member of the senate of the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

and as part of high society in Western Australia he was a member of prestigious organisations like the

Weld Club The Weld Club is a private male-only social club in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1871 as a gentlemen's club, it is named after Frederick Weld, the chronologically first patron of the club and the Governor of Western Australia at the t ...

in Perth and Hannan's Club in Kalgoorlie. In 1926 he returned to England, where he died at Pembury, Kent, in 1940. His brother, John Walter, migrated to Australia as well and became a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Western Australia The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, William 1860 births 1940 deaths Australian Anglicans Resident magistrates of Western Australia English emigrants to colonial Australia People from Taunton Deane (district) Colony of Western Australia people