William Bispham Propsting, CMG (4 June 1861 – 3 December 1937) was an Australian politician and member of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

, who served as

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of ...

from 9 April 1903 to 11 July 1904.

Early life

Propsting was born in Hobart, the son of Henry Propsting. He was educated at the Derwent School, Hobart, and went to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in 1879 entering the education department as a pupil teacher. He studied at the training college and at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, and rose to be first assistant at the Sturt Street School,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. He returned to Tasmania in 1886, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1892.

Political career

In February 1899 Propsting entered politics as member for Hobart in the

, and in August 1901 was elected leader of the opposition. He became premier and treasurer on 9 April 1903, his party being known as the liberal democratic party. He succeeded in re-organising the education department and established a training college at Hobart, but most of his party's attempts to bring in democratic legislation were blocked by the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, ...

. Propsting resigned on 11 July 1904 and was leader of the opposition until December 1905. He was then elected a member of the legislative council, and in May 1906 joined the Sir John W. Evans ministry as attorney-general and minister for education. This ministry resigned in June 1909. From April 1916 to August 1922 Propsting was attorney-general and minister for railways in Sir W. H. Lee's ministry, and was attorney-general in the Hayes ministry which succeeded it until August 1923. He was elected president of the legislative council in July 1926 and held this position with distinction until his death at Hobart on 3 December 1937.

Legacy

Propsting married twice; firstly to Caroline Emma Coles in 1893, and secondly to Lilias Macfarlane in 1925, who survived him with a son and two daughters of the first marriage. He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1932.

References

External links

*D. Nairn Thorp,
Propsting, William Bispham (1861 - 1937)
, '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 11, MUP, 1988, pp 302–303. {{DEFAULTSORT:Propsting, William Bispham 1861 births 1937 deaths Premiers of Tasmania Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Politicians from Hobart Presidents of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania Treasurers of Tasmania 20th-century Australian politicians