William Frederic Sayer KC (3 December 1857 – 26 February 1943) was an Australian lawyer and politician who was a 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 1901 to 1902. He was

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in the short-lived government of

George Throssell George Lionel Throssell (23 May 1840 – 30 August 1910) was the second Premier of Western Australia. He served for just three months, from 15 February to 27 May 1901, during a period of great instability in Western Australian politics. Geor ...

. Sayer was born in London, and attended the

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_hea ...

before going on to study law. He came to Western Australia in 1890 to work as a legal adviser to the Midland Railway Company. He later worked for the colonial government, serving as a secretary in the Law Department and then as Commissioner of Titles from 1898 to 1901 (a position in the Department of Lands and Surveys).William Frederic Sayer
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 15 June 2016. In March 1901, despite not being a member of parliament, Sayer was appointed attorney-general in

the ministry In constitutional usage in Commonwealth realms, a ministry (usually preceded by the definite article, i.e., the ministry) is a collective body of government ministers led by a head of government, such as a prime minister. It is described by Oxfo ...

of George Throssell (succeeding Richard Pennefather)."THE ATTORNEY-GENERALSHIP."
'' The Western Mail'', 30 March 1901. At the 1901 state election, a month after being elevated to the ministry, Sayer won the newly created seat of Claremont. However, at the same election, Throssell's government lost its majority, eventually leading to its demise in May 1901. Sayer was replaced as attorney-general by the new

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

George Leake George Leake (3 December 1856 – 24 June 1902) was the third Premier of Western Australia, serving from May to November 1901 and then again from December 1901 to his death. Leake was born in Perth, into a prominent local family. Studying l ...

. He remained in parliament for only another year, resigning in May 1902 to accept the position of chief parliamentary draughtsman. In December 1902, Sayer was appointed crown solicitor (equivalent to Solicitor-General) in succession to Robert Bruce Burnside, a position which he held until his retirement in 1930. He died in February 1943, aged 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayer, William 1857 births 1943 deaths Australian King's Counsel Australian solicitors English emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at University College School Politicians from London Lawyers from London Public servants of Western Australia Attorneys-General of Western Australia Solicitors-General of Western Australia