William Nicholas Willis (3 August 1858 – 3 April 1922) was an Australian politician and newspaper proprietor.

Early life

Willis was born in

Mudgee, New South Wales Mudgee is a town in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area as well as being t ...

and educated in Mudgee and, briefly, at St Mary's School 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 Mountains ...

, which he left at age nine to help support his mother after his father's departure to California. He worked first as an office boy. He eventually became a successful hawker along the

Macquarie Macquarie may refer to: People * Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of the British colony of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. * Elizabeth Macquarie Campbell, Lachlan Macquarie's second wife Locations * Division of Macquarie, an electoral district in th ...

, Darling and

Bogan Bogan ( ) is Australian slang for a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour are considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be pejorative or self-deprecating. The prevalence of the term bogan ...

rivers. Between 1879 and 1888, he opened and managed stores in partnership with T. L. Richardson, at Girilambone,

Nyngan Nyngan () is a town in the centre of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bogan Shire local government area within the Orana Region of central New South Wales. At the 2016 census, Nyngan had a population of 1,988 people. Nyngan is situated on th ...

, and Brewarrina. He bought the ''Central Australian and Bourke Telegraph''. In 1888, he married Mary Hayes and became a grazier near Brewarrina.

Political career

Willis ran unsuccessfully for Bourke in the

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 , e ...

Legislative Assembly in 1887, but won it as a

Protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

in 1889 and held it to 1894. Willis founded the Truth in 1890. He was the member for The Barwon from 1894 to 1904. He had become a supplier of horses and fodder to the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and he recruited Australian bushmen as

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

s and

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with "marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" i ...

s during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. John Haynes constantly accused Willis and

Paddy Crick William Patrick Crick (10 February 1862 – 23 August 1908) was an Australian politician, solicitor and newspaper proprietor. He was described by author Cyril Pearl as an irresistible demagogue, who "looked like a prize fighter, dressed like a ...

of corrupt land deals in ''the Newsletter''. On the appointment of a Royal Commission under William Owen to investigate the administration of the Lands Department in 1905, Willis fled to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

and South Africa. He was brought back to Sydney in 1906, but although tried twice for obtaining money by false pretences, fraud and conspiracy, the juries failed to agree on a verdict.

Later life

Willis moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

about 1910. He died penniless of coronary heart disease in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, survived by his wife, six daughters and a son. ;White Slave Trade in 1912, he published, with Mrs Olive MacKirdy, ''The White Slave Market''. This book alleged Singapore was a centre for European prostitution, the headquarters of the "pimps" in the East — still the burial-ground of thousands upon thousands of unfortunate white girls. Malay Street, with its hundreds of houses of ill-fame, still flourishes … 90 percent had VD and claimed that there were 510 brothels in the city. >

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, William Nicholas 1858 births 1922 deaths People from the Orana (New South Wales) Australian Roman Catholics Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 19th-century Australian newspaper publishers (people)