William Thomas Dick (16 January 1865 – 1 July 1932) was a politician, teacher, actuary and barrister in New South Wales, Australia. Dick was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

the eldest son of Eliza and William Dick, a police officer. He was educated at

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary school, secondary day school, located in Petersh ...

, before the family moved to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

in the late 1870s where his father became a senior sergeant. He completed his education at Newcastle Superior Public School. He taught at the state school in the Newcastle suburb of Wickham from 1881 to 1884, at Fort Street Training School (Sydney) 1884 to 1885 and

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

Public School (Sydney) 1885 from 1887. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

with honours at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 1890, and opened a private school in Newcastle. He qualified as an

actuary An actuary is a business professional who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. The name of the corresponding field is actuarial science. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require asset man ...

in 1894. He married Anna Helena Poulson in May 1892 and they had three daughters and three sons. Dick was elected as a

Free Trade Party The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states, was an Australian political party, formally organised in 1887 in New South Wales, ...

member for

Newcastle East Newcastle East is an inner city suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located immediately east of Newcastle's central business district at the mouth of the Hunter River. The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by City of Newc ...

the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

in 1894, which he held until its abolition in 1904, joining the Liberal Reform Party on its formation in 1901. Having been a teacher and actuary, he then had a further career change, being admitted as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

in 1902. Newcastle East was largely replaced by

which he won at the 1904 election. He was appointed a minister without portfolio in the Carruthers ministry from 29 August 1904 until 1 October 1907. He did not contest the 1907 election, having accepted a life appointment to the Legislative Council, serving until his death and did not hold any further ministerial or parliamentary office. He joined the Nationalist Party in 1917 and its successor the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

in 1931. He had chambers in Phillip Street until 1920, before apparently retiring in 1925, listing his chambers as a residential address in Bondi. He died at his home in Bondi on , survived by his wife Anna, 3 daughters, Daisy, Hollis and Leslie, and 2 sons, Harry and Robert.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dick, William Thomas Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Free Trade Party politicians Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales 1865 births 1932 deaths People educated at Fort Street High School