William Carroll (3 January 1872 – 30 May 1936) was an Australian politician. Born in Garvoc,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, he was educated at

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

before moving 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 ...

during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

to become a miner, and subsequently became a farmer at Tammin. He was General Secretary of the Western Australian Primary Producers' Association, and was a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

from 1923 to 1924. In 1925, he was elected to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

as a Country Party Senator for Western Australia. He remained in the Senate until his death in 1936, necessitating the appointment of

Thomas Marwick Thomas William Marwick (29 April 1895 – 3 April 1960) was an Australian farmer and politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served both as a Senator for Western Australia (1936–1937) and as a member of the House of Rep ...

to replace him.

Early life

Carroll was born on 3 January 1872 in

Garvoc, Victoria Garvoc () is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Moyne Shire local government area, south west of the state capital, Melbourne. The town is the proposed location for a regional livestock selling c ...

. He was the second of eight surviving children born to Mary (née Larkin) and James Carroll; his father was born in Scotland and his mother in Ireland. Carroll grew up on his father's farm near

and attended a local state school; his father was also the secretary of the Wimmera Shire Council. After leaving school he farmed wheat in the

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 Austral ...

until 1898, when he was forced by the

Federation Drought In Australia, the Federation Drought is the name given to a prolonged period of drought that occurred around the time of Federation in 1901. Though often thought of as a long drought, until the record dry year of 1902 the period was actually one ...

to abandon farming and move to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in search of employment. In May 1898, Carroll moved to Western Australia, initially living in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

where he worked as a commercial traveller. He then moved to the

Eastern Goldfields The Eastern Goldfields is part of the Western Australian Goldfields in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, covering the present and former gold-mining area east of Perth. Extent and name origin The region encompasses the town ...

and worked as a gold miner. In 1903 he was nearly killed in an accident in the Perseverance mine at

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

, "when a rope snapped and he was buried in a vat of crushed ore". He also worked in the Lancefield gold mine at Laverton. Carroll was appointed as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1907. He returned to farming in 1910, buying a property in Tammin in Western Australia's Wheatbelt.

Politics

Carroll became active in politics as a member of the

Farmers' and Settlers' Association The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fede ...

; his farm became a centre for political meetings. He was elected to the association's executive council in 1915. He first stood for parliament at the

1917 Western Australian state election Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 29 September 1917 to elect 50 members to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. The Nationalist-Country- National Labor coalition, led by Premier Sir Henry Lefroy, retained governmen ...

, unsuccessfully contesting the Legislative Assembly seat of Avon. At the 1925 federal election, Carroll was elected to a six-year term beginning on 1 July 1926. He stood for the Country Party on a joint

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

ticket with the Nationalist Party. He was re-elected at the 1931 election, but died in office in 1936. The

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

caused by his death was filled by

Personal life

Carroll married Annie Jane Nicholson in 1898; the couple had three sons and daughter. He suffered from poor health and settled in Sydney after parliament relocated to Canberra in 1927. He died at his home in

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

on 31 May 1936, aged 64. He was cremated in Sydney, with his ashes sent to Western Australia and scattered by plane over

Perth Water Perth Water is a section of the Swan River on the southern edge of the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It is between the Causeway to the east, and Narrows Bridge to the west – a large wide but shallow section of river, ...

References

1872 births 1936 deaths Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians People from Victoria (Australia) Australian farmers Australian people of Scottish descent Australian people of Irish descent {{Australia-National-politician-stub