William Mair (died 14 October 1897) was a politician in the British colony of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Life

Son of William Mair of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

, he arrived in South Australia around 1853, and found employment with

Philip Levi & Co Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

. He left to join the Public Service, then was appointed secretary of Wallaroo Mines Ltd. He spent some time in New Zealand in business, then returned to Adelaide, where he ran a business as general agents. He was secretary of Adelaide Underwriters' Association Ltd. from 1888 to the time of his death. He represented The Sturt in the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

from September 1874 to February 1875, and vigorously supported the establishment of railways to Glenelg and Brighton. He was elected mayor of

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

in 1869, and served to November 1871. His home "Plantations" in Glenelg was noted for its flower garden.

Family

He married Mary Morphett (15 April 1840 – 30 October 1932), eldest daughter of Sir

John Morphett Sir John Morphett (4 May 1809 – 7 November 1892) was a South Australian pioneer, landowner and politician. His younger brother George Morphett was also an early settler in South Australia. Early life Morphett was born in London, th ...

, on 7 July 1862. Their children included: *Hurtle William Morphett Mair (20 September 1863 – 1940) married Kathleen Dowling (4 April 1876 – ) on 10 July 1900. He died in

Quirindi Quirindi ( or ) is a small town on the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Liverpool Plains Shire. At the , Quirindi had a population of 3,444. It is the nearest link to Gunnedah to the west and Tamworth to the north. ...

, New South Wales. *George Hay Morphett Mair (10 July 1865 – ) married Dora List ( – 17 December 1940) on 30 June 1904 *Olive Morphett Mair (1 December 1867 – 17 January 1941) married sharebroker Charles Irwin (c. 1862 – 16 August 1923), son of Canon Irwin of Tasmania, on 2 November 1892 *Burgo Morphett Mair (22 June 1870 – 18 December 1956) married Catherine Amy Johnson ( – 25 May 1911) on 21 August 1901. He married again, to Celia Warden Wilby on 21 July 1926. *Constance Mary Morphett Mair (21 November 1872 – 5 October 1951) married wine merchant and LCL executive Frederick William Ralph (1863 – 13 December 1944). Their home was "Plantations", Glenelg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mair, William Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Mayors of places in South Australia 1897 deaths 19th-century Australian businesspeople 19th-century Australian politicians Politicians from Adelaide