William Mortimer Marshall (22 June 1885 – 19 August 1952) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

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 ...

from 1921 until his death, representing the seat of Murchison. He served as a minister in the government of

Frank Wise Frank Joseph Scott Wise AO (30 May 1897 – 29 June 1986) was a Labor Party politician who was the 16th Premier of Western Australia. He took office on 31 July 1945 in the closing stages of the Second World War, following the resignation of ...

. Marshall was born in North Creswick, Victoria, a small town near

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

. His work as a miner took him to Malaya and Rhodesia, and eventually to Western Australia, where he was employed on the mines at Lawlers and Youanmi. Marshall eventually settled in Meekatharra, where he worked as a locomotive driver.William Mortimer Marshall
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 23 May 2016. He joined the Labor Party in 1915, and at the 1921 state election was elected to the seat of Murchison, having defeated the sitting member, John Holman, for

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

. After the 1939 election, Marshall was appointed chairman of committees in the Legislative Assembly. When Frank Wise replaced

John Willcock John Collings Willcock (9 August 1879 – 7 June 1956) was the 15th Premier of Western Australia, serving from 1936 until 1945. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party. Early life John Willcock was born at Frogmoor (now Frogmore), New So ...

as premier in 1945, he was elevated to the ministry, becoming Minister for Mines, Minister for Railways, and

Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

. He held his titles until Labor's defeat at the 1947 election. While on a health trip on the MV ''Kabbarli'' in August 1952, Marshall was taken ill and put ashore at Darwin, where he would die in hospital. His cousin, Bob Marshall, was a billiards world champion and briefly also a member of parliament.Robert James Percival Marshall
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 23 May 2016.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, William 1885 births 1952 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian miners Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Creswick, Victoria 20th-century Australian politicians