William Thomas Appleton (1859–1930), was an Australian businessman, shipping agent and public servant. He was born on 2 May 1859 in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England. His father, Thomas Appleton was a bookbinder, and his mother was Mary (née Burnley).G. R. Henning, 'Appleton, William Thomas (1859–1930)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 4 April 2013.
/ref> In late 1859 the Appleton family visited a maternal uncle (William Burnley) who ran an import-export agency in the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

, after which William Appleton returned to England and completed his education at Wharfdale College,

. He then returned with his parents to

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 ...

in 1869 settling in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

, where he attended the

Melbourne Church of England Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private Anglican day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior school for boys from Years 7 to 12. The three campuses are ...

in 1872–73. He worked with his brother (Colonel) George Burnley Appleton (1850–1945) at his Geelong woolbroking firm. Later he was chairman of Huddart Parker & Co. Pty Ltd. Appleton joined this firm in

c. 1884 becoming Manager in 1887, then moving to the Melbourne office. He joined the board of management in 1894 becoming managing director in 1898 and chairman of the company in 1910–30. Whilst on the Harbour Trust, Appleton supported long-term plans for new dock construction.

Appleton Dock Appleton Dock is an international shipping facility in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was opened in about 1956 by the Melbourne Harbor Trust, and is named after MHT commissioner William Thomas Appleton (1859-1930), who was a staunch advocate ...

on the north side of the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower st ...

was named after him. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Appleton held a number of temporary official posts. He died of cancer at his home in Malvern on 16 February 1930 leaving an estate of £131,323.

Industry achievements

* Founding Chairman of the Australasian Steamship Owners' Federation 1899–1903, chairman 1908, 1911–16, 1920–21, 1925–30 * Ship-owner Representative of the Melbourne Harbour Trust November 1906, chairman April 1911–1913, senior commissioner 1913–1930 * Council-member of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce, President 1914–16 * President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Australia 1915–16, President of the Geelong branch * Chairman of several shipping and colliery companies * Director of AWA * Trustee of the Geelong Savings Bank * Founding Director of the Western and Wimmera Districts of Victoria Freezing Co * Inaugural National Laboratory Conference 1916''The Origins of CSIRO: Science and the Commonwealth Government 1901–1926''
CSIRO Publishing, 01/06/1966. Held on 5 Jan 1916, under auspices of Prime Minister

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...

to create a National Laboratory for Australia – led to formation of George Currie, John Graham. * Negotiated for the formation of the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleton, William Thomas 1930 deaths 19th-century Australian businesspeople 1859 births British emigrants to colonial Australia People from the Colony of Victoria