William Thomas Appleton (1859–1930), was an Australian businessman, shipping agent and public servant. He was born on 2 May 1859 in

Leeds, Yorkshire Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, England. His father, Thomas Appleton was a bookbinder, and his mother was Mary (née Burnley).G. R. Henning, 'Appleton, William Thomas (1859–1930)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 4 April 2013.
/ref> In late 1859 the Appleton family visited a maternal uncle (William Burnley) who ran an import-export agency in the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

, after which William Appleton returned to England and completed his education at Wharfdale College,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. He then returned with his parents to

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 ...

in 1869 settling in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, where he attended the

Melbourne Church of England Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and seni ...

in 1872–73. He worked with his brother (Colonel) George Burnley Appleton (1850–1945) at his Geelong woolbroking firm. Later he was chairman of Huddart Parker & Co. Pty Ltd. Appleton joined this firm in Geelong c. 1884 becoming Manager in 1887, then moving to the Melbourne office. He joined the board of management in 1894 becoming managing director in 1898 and chairman of the company in 1910–30. Whilst on the Harbour Trust, Appleton supported long-term plans for new dock construction.

Appleton Dock Appleton Dock is an international shipping facility in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was opened in about 1956 by the Melbourne Harbor Trust, and is named after MHT commissioner William Thomas Appleton (1859-1930), who was a staunch advocat ...

on the north side of the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stre ...

was named after him. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Appleton held a number of temporary official posts. He died of cancer at his home in

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

on 16 February 1930 leaving an estate of £131,323.

Industry achievements

* Founding Chairman of the Australasian Steamship Owners' Federation 1899–1903, chairman 1908, 1911–16, 1920–21, 1925–30 * Ship-owner Representative of the Melbourne Harbour Trust November 1906, chairman April 1911–1913, senior commissioner 1913–1930 * Council-member of the

Melbourne Chamber of Commerce The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the largest and most influential not-for-profit business organisation in Victoria, informing and supporting 47,000 members and clients across the state. Founded in 1851 with headquarters in Melb ...

, President 1914–16 * President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Australia 1915–16, President of the Geelong branch * Chairman of several shipping and colliery companies * Director of

Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) AWA Technology Services, name based on former name Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd, is an Australian provider for technology related services. Throughout most of the 20th century AWA was Australia's largest and most prominent electronics o ...

Ltd. * Trustee of the Geelong Savings Bank * Founding Director of the Western and Wimmera Districts of Victoria Freezing Co. Ltd. * Inaugural National Laboratory Conference 1916Held on 5 Jan 1916, under auspices of Prime Minister Billy Hughes
to create a National Laboratory for Australia – led to formation of George Currie, John Graham, ''The Origins of CSIRO: Science and the Commonwealth Government 1901–1926'' Csiro Publishing, 01/06/1966] * Negotiated for the creation of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleton, William Thomas 1930 deaths Australian businesspeople 1859 births