William Joseph McCourt (1 March 1851 – 22 June 1913) was an Irish-born Australian politician. He was born in

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

to shoemaker James McCourt and Bridget Smith. He arrived in New South Wales with his parents in 1852 and attended

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

Public School. He was apprenticed to a printer after leaving school, and was also a successful land speculator. In 1882 he married Emily Elizabeth, with whom he had six children. 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 House ...

in 1882 as the member for Camden. He lost his seat in 1885 but was re-elected in 1887. A

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

r, he transferred to

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It is south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and the Southern Highl ...

in 1894 and to

Wollondilly Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area that is located on the far southwest fringe of the Greater Sydney area in New South Wales, Australia. The local government area is part of the Macarthur and Blue Mountains regions. The Wol ...

in 1904. By this time a member of the Liberal Reform Party, he was elected

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

in 1900, serving until the election of 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 ...

government in 1910. McCourt held his seat until his death at Berrima in 1913.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCourt, William 1851 births 1913 deaths Free Trade Party politicians Colony of New South Wales people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Speakers of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Irish emigrants to colonial Australia