Sir William Gordon Fry (12 June 1909 – 29 September 2000) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

to engineer Alfred Gordon Fry and Edith Elizabeth Andrews. He attended state schools at Ballarat before studying at

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

and becoming a schoolteacher. On 19 September 1936 he married Lilian Gwendoline Macrae, with whom he had four sons. From 1940 to 1945 he served in the Australian Imperial Force, commanding the 47th Battalion in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

. He attained the rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

, and subsequently headed a commission investigating war crimes in the Pacific. On his return he taught at Camperdown State School from 1946 to 1956, and was subsequently headmaster of Cheltenham,

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

and Cheltenham Heights state schools. He had joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in 1947, and from 1963 to 1972 served on Moorabbin City Council; he was mayor from 1968 to 1969. In 1967 he was elected to 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 Co ...

for

Higinbotham Province Higinbotham Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council. It existed as a two-member electorate from 1937 to 2006, with members serving alternating eight-year terms. It was considered a safe seat for the Liberal throughout ...

. He was elected President of the Council in 1976, and retired from politics in 1979; he was knighted the following year, by which time he was living in

Beaumaris Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from th ...

. Fry died at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in 2000. The Sir William Fry Reserve is an area of parkland named after him in 1985.Graham J. Whitehead, ''Highett Gasland'', localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au
/ref> It is located near the intersection of Nepean Highway and Bay Road in the Melbourne suburb of Highett.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, William 1909 births 2000 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Presidents of the Victorian Legislative Council Australian Knights Bachelor Australian colonels Australian Army personnel of World War II 20th-century Australian politicians People from Ballarat