William Shiels (3 December 1848 – 17 December 1904) was an Australian colonial-era politician, serving as the 16th

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

Biography

Shiels was born in

Maghera Maghera ( ; ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,235 in the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Formerly in the Barony (Ireland), barony of Loughinsholin within the historic County ...

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, a town in the centre of

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in the north of Ireland. He was born into an

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family and arrived in

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as a child in 1853. He was educated at Scotch College and the

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, where he graduated in law and arts, gaining a master's degree in law in 1885. He was called to the Melbourne bar in 1872 and was also active in public life, being a noted campaigner for

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reform. Shiels was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

for Normanby in 1880, as a moderate liberal, holding that seat throughout his career. He was

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and Minister for Railways in the government of James Munro from 1890 to 1892. During this time Shiels was one of the few politicians to warn against the excesses of the Land Boom which swept

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

between 1887 and 1891. As a result, when Munro suddenly resigned in the face of imminent bankruptcy in February 1892, the liberals turned to Shiels as a "clean" new leader, and he became Premier. The Shiels government responded to the financial disaster of the 1892 crash in the orthodox fashion of the time, cutting spending and increasing taxation to balance the budget – measures which only made the situation worse. The conservatives who had supported the coalition governments of

Duncan Gillies Duncan Gillies (14 January 1834 – 12 September 1903), was an Australian colonial politician who served as the 14th Premier of Victoria. Biography Gillies was born at Overnewton near Glasgow, Scotland, where his father had a market garden. He ...

and Munro opposed increased taxation, and during 1892 they deserted Shiels. In January 1893 the conservative leader

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moved a successful no-confidence motion, and Shiels resigned. Shiels stayed in politics and kept his reputation for integrity. He was Treasurer under Allan McLean (1899–1900) and William Irvine (1902–1903) and Minister for Railways (1903–1904). In 1904, however, his health broke down and he retired to rural South Australia shortly before his death, aged only 56. Shiels is buried at Struan House which is located on the Riddoch HWY 10 km out of Naracoorte in South Australia's South East.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Geoff Browne, ''A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900–84'', Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985 *Don Garden, ''Victoria: A History'', Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1984 *Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle, ''A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856–1900'', Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972 * Raymond Wright, ''A People's Counsel. A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856–1990'', Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shiels, William 1848 births 1904 deaths People from the Colony of Victoria 19th-century Irish people People from County Londonderry Premiers of Victoria Melbourne Law School alumni Victoria (state) state politicians People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Attorneys-general of the Colony of Victoria 19th-century Australian politicians Irish emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian lawyers Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Treasurers of Victoria Attorneys-general of Victoria Ministers of railways (Victoria)