William Rupert McCourt (1884 – 17 February 1947) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

who served as Clerk of 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 ...

Family and education

McCourt was born in

Moss Vale, New South Wales Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra, Illawarra coast ...

the son of

William McCourt William Joseph McCourt (1 March 1851 – 22 June 1913) was an Irish-born Australian politician. He was born in County Monaghan to shoemaker James McCourt and Bridget Smith. He arrived in New South Wales with his parents in 1852 and attende ...

MLA (1851–1913), a former Speaker of the NSW Legislative Assembly. He was educated at

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

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 ...

from 1899 until 1901.

Public and war service

Upon leaving school in 1901, McCourt joined the staff of the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...

and served in a number of positions before serving as Clerk of the NSW Legislative Assembly from 1930 until 1947. He served as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in World War I and at war's end he and the then second clerk of the Assembly were seconded to the staff of the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...

for some months.

Honours and travel

McCourt was made a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in 1937 in recognition of his services to the

New South Wales Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...

. In that year he officially attended the

Coronation of King George VI The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Elizabeth, as King of the United Kingdom, King and Queen consort of the United Kingdom, Queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth r ...

in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCourt, William Rupert 1884 births 1947 deaths People educated at Newington College Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George