Robert Henry Williams (2 June 1870 – 17 March 1938) was an Australian politician. He was born in Fitzroy to American-born grain merchant Robert Williams and Fanny Kendall. He attended state school and worked for his father before following the gold rush to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

in the 1890s. Having been unsuccessful, he returned to

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and became a caterer and hotelier. He served on South Melbourne City Council from 1921 to 1932 and was mayor from 1927 to 1928. In 1922 he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

as a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member for

Melbourne West Province Melbourne West Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1904 until 2006. It was created in June 1904 when Melbourne Province Melbourne Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council (Australia) ...

. He was a minister without portfolio from 1927 to 1928 and from 1929 to 1931, and Minister of

Forests A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

and Public Health from 1931 to 1932. He was

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and

Immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

and

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

in 1932, but later that year was expelled from the Labor Party after supporting the

Premiers' Plan The Premiers' Plan was a deflationary economic policy agreed by a meeting of the Premiers of the Australian states in June 1931 to combat the Great Depression in Australia that sparked the 1931 Labor split. Background The Great Depress ...

. He remained in the council as an

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until the

1932 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1932. Asia * 1932 Japanese general election Europe * 1932 Irish general election * 1932 Swedish general election * 1932 Estonian parliamentary election * 1932 French legislative election * 1932 Belgian ...

. Outside of politics, Williams served as the president of the

South Melbourne Districts Football Club The South Melbourne Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Bloods, is an Australian rules football club based in South Melbourne. The club also has Sport of athletics, athletics and cricket programs. As of 2025, the club's men's team competes in ...

. Williams was killed in a car crash at

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

in 1938. His role at South Melbourne Districts was replaced by his son, Alf Williams, who served as acting president until officially becoming club president in February 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Robert 1870 births 1938 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Independent members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Ministers for health (Victoria) Vice-presidents of the Board of Land and Works Ministers for public works (Victoria) Ministers for forests (Victoria) Ministers for labour (Victoria) Ministers of mines (Victoria) Ministers of immigration (Victoria)