William Henson (1 August 1826 – 19 March 1903) was a politician and gold miner in New South Wales, Australia.

Early life

He 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 ...

to soldier William Henson and Caroline Blades. His father was a soldier in the 3rd buffs who had been sent to

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 , es ...

on detachment and remained, setting up business in George Street but dying while his children were still young. The younger William was educated at St Phillips School at Church Hill and then managed a sheep station. He spent time on the goldfields at

Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon received a shipment from Ophir every three years (1 Kings 10:22) which consisted of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes, and peacocks. ...

and

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

, meeting with enough success to settle comfortably at Ashfield. He married Mary Ann Massey on 9 January 1855, and they had 4 daughters and 2 sons.

Political career

In 1880 he was elected to 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 ...

for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. He was defeated in 1882, but returned in a by-election in 1885 and was re-elected in 1887. He did not contest the 1889 election, although he did run again, unsuccessfully, in 1891. He was a prominent member bf the order of the Sons of Temperance and of the Orange organisations, and as honorary treasurer of the Benevolent Society and President of the Local Option League.

Death

Henson died at Ashfield on .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henson, William 1826 births 1903 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Free Trade Party politicians 19th-century Australian politicians