William James McWilliams (12 October 1856 – 22 October 1929) was an Australian politician who served as the inaugural leader of the Country Party, in office from 1920 to 1921. He was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1903 to 1922 and from 1928 to his death, on both occasions representing the

Division of Franklin The Division of Franklin is an Australian electoral division in Tasmania. The division is located in southern Tasmania around the state capital, Hobart. It is the only non-contiguous federal electoral division in Australia, with the two part ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. He represented five different political parties during his time in parliament, eventually seeing out his final term as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Early life

Born in

Bream Creek Bream Creek is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Sorell in the South-east LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about east of the town of Sorell. The 2016 census has a population of 124 for the state suburb of Bream Cree ...

, near

Sorell, Tasmania Sorell is a town in Tasmania, Australia, north-east of Hobart. It is located on the Tasman Highway at the junction with the Arthur Highway. Sorell is one of Tasmania's oldest towns, being first settled in 1808 as a small farming community and bec ...

, the son of Irish immigrants who ran the local school. Originally trained as a teacher, McWilliams became a journalist in 1877, rising to editor of the ''Launceston Telegraph'' in 1883. Marrying Josephine Fullerton in Melbourne on 19 October 1893, McWilliams's role as editor helped his stature in the local community enough to ensure his election to the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

for the electorate of

Ringarooma Ringarooma is a small town in north-eastern Tasmania. It is located just east of the Ringarooma River and is about south-west from Derby, Tasmania, Derby and east-northeast from Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston. The area around Ringarooma is kn ...

in the 1893 election. An

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

fan, in 1897 McWilliams help found the Southern Tasmania Football Association and remained a senior figure in football administration in Tasmania. McWilliams bought the Hobart-based ''Tasmanian News'' in 1896 and moved to Hobart shortly after, unsuccessfully standing for the seat of Glenorchy in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

Politics

Switching to federal politics, McWilliams won the Franklin at the 1903 election as a Revenue Tariffist supporting the

Free Trade Party The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states, was an Australian political party, formally organised in 1887 in New South Wales, ...

on most economic issues. In parliament, McWilliams advocated strongly on behalf of farmers, investigated the possibility of introducing sugarbeet farming into Tasmania and helped found the Tasmanian meteorological bureau. He also supported giving women and ex-convicts the vote but opposed

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

, believing it should be delayed. In parliament, McWilliams, like almost all his fellow members, strongly supported the

White Australia Policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...

, but opposed federal spending on issues such as the establishment of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. ...

, a federal department of agriculture, a transcontinental railway and federal acquisition of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. As in state parliament, McWilliams was a staunch advocate on rural matters, supporting the timber industry and primary producers.

Leader of the Country Party

After assisting in the formation of the Country Party in 1920, McWilliams was appointed as its first federal parliamentary leader.Graham, B. (1966) ''The Formation of the Australian Country Parties'', ANU Press However McWilliams did not always see eye to eye with his party colleagues and at times voted against the wishes of the party. He was relieved of the leadership of the Country Party in April 1921 and lost his seat at the 1922 election.

Later years

McWilliams left the Country Party after losing the leadership, and unsuccessfully contested Franklin at the 1925 election as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

. Running as an

, he regained Franklin in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...

and was again successful in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

, although there was little time for celebration following his second win, because McWilliams died in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

from

angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstru ...

within hours of the declaration of the poll. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McWilliams, William Free Trade Party members of the Parliament of Australia Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Australian monarchists 1856 births 1929 deaths Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Franklin Members of the Australian House of Representatives Revenue Tariff Party members of the Parliament of Australia Leaders of the National Party of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians