William Wilson (16 February 1834 – 16 November 1891) was a politician in colonial

Victoria (Australia) Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

, a member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

, and later of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative C ...

Biography

Wilson was born at Renton, two miles from

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, Scotland. He emigrated to Australia in October 1852, in the ship ''Sir William Molesworth''—a joint stock concern—all the passengers having an interest in her. The captain and crew went out on 1s. per month wages, in order to get their discharge on landing. Shortly after his arrival, in 1853, Mr. Wilson commenced business in the timber trade at Geelong as a member of the firm of Tate, Wilson & Wright. After they had straggled through the commercial crisis of 1854, the partnership was dissolved, whereupon Mr. Wilson went into the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

trade, bringing oats, etc., to the Fiery Creek rush. He afterwards bought a business there, and on the opening of the Canton lead at

Ararat, Victoria Ararat (Djabwurrung language, Djabwurrung: ''Tallarambooroo'') is a city in south-west Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway, Victoria, Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hill ...

, opened a wholesale store there. Three years later he sold his business, and turned his attention, with a fair measure of success, to pastoral pursuits, first on the Lower Goulburn and then in the Lower Wimmera. He then joined the firm of Boyd, McNaught & Boyd, which was subsequently known as Wilson, Crosbie & Co. Wilson had been one of the earliest town councillors of Ararat; and in February 1866 was returned to the Legislative Assembly for the Ararat district. Wilson was Commissioner of Railways in the

James McCulloch Sir James McCulloch, (18 March 1819 – 31 January 1893), British colonial politician, was the fifth Premier of Victoria. Early life McCulloch was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of George McCulloch, a quarry master a ...

Government from 2 to 20 September 1869, and again under the same Premier from 9 April 1870, to 19 June 1871. At the following election he was defeated by Michael Carroll, but was soon afterwards returned to the Legislative Council as a representative of the Eastern Province. He afterwards retired and paid a somewhat lengthened visit to Europe. He re-entered the political arena for a short time in 1881, when he opposed the re-election of

David Gaunson David Gaunson (19 January 1846 – 2 January 1909) was an Australian politician and criminal solicitor who conducted the defence of the infamous Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly in the pre-trial stages. Early life Gaunson was born in Sydn ...

, at Ararat, on his appointment as Commissioner of Crown Lands, and succeeded in defeating him by a considerable majority. He did not, however, again offer himself at the general election in 1883. Mr. Wilson was in England from 1885 to 1886, when he returned to the colony. In 1873 he became a director of the

National Bank of Australasia The National Bank of Australasia was a bank based in Melbourne. It was established in 1858, and in 1982 merged with the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney to form National Australia Bank. History In 1858, Alexander Gibb, a Melbourne gentlema ...

, and was chairman of the board in 1876. Mr. Wilson was largely interested in pastoral pursuits in Victoria and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and was also chairman of the Evening Standard Newspaper Company of

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 ...

Death

He died on 16 November 1891.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, William 1834 births 1891 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Members of the Victorian Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia