William Wilson Killen (1860 – 20 February 1939) was an Australian politician. Killen was born and educated in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

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and migrated to Australia with his family in 1876. His father Edward acquired significant pastoral interests, and Killen initially worked on his father's property, "Elsinor", then managed the "Pirillie" property near Bourke. He then acquired an interest in the "Bull Plain" property near

Corowa Corowa is a town in the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is on the bank of the Murray River, the border between New South Wales and Victoria, opposite the Victorian town of Wahgunyah. It is the largest town in the Federation Counci ...

, founding a Merino stud, and purchased the "Merribee" property near

Barellan Barellan is a small town in Narrandera Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. On Census night 2021, Barellan had a population of 276. It is a quiet Riverina wheat town on the Burley Griffin Way, with characteristic silos ...

in 1908, where he resided for many years thereafter. In the 1900s Killen was secretary of a branch of the Peace and Humanity Society, which opposed Australia's involvement in the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

, when British troops were "depriving a brave and free people ... of their liberty and independence", indulging in "farm burning, dam-cutting, and general destruction", and "barbarous treatment of women and children ... in direct violation of the rules of warfare, as laid down by the Hague Conference". He was a co-founder of the

Farmers' and Settlers' Association The National Party of Australia, commonly known as the Nationals or simply the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia. Traditionally represe ...

and after many years of involvement was its president from 1920 to 1922. He was also president of the Murrumbidgee Shire, a

Yanko Shire Yanko Shire was a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Yanko Shire was proclaimed on 7 March 1906. On 6 January 1928, Willimbong Shire (later renamed Leeton Shire) was excised from its territory as per the ...

councillor, vice-president of the Riverina New State League, a member of the councils of the Graziers' Association and Stockowners' Association and a member of the Australian Meat Council, as well as his local pastures protection board. He was an unsuccessful Progressive Party candidate at the 1920 state election. In 1922 he was elected to the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

as a member of the Country Party, defeating

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

MP John Chanter for the seat of

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

. In 1925, while a federal MP, he was the official representative of the Riverina Movement at the 1925 NSW Royal Commission into the New State movements. Killen held Riverina until his retirement in 1931, having had a heart attack in 1929 and struggled with health issues during his final term. Killen returned to farming after his retirement from politics and also continued a long-running role as a director of the Farmers' and Graziers' Co-operative Grain Insurance and Agency Co. Ltd. He retired to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in his final years. He died at his home in Manly in 1939 after having been ill for several months, and was buried at

Rookwood Cemetery Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating cemetery from the ...

. He married Marion Young (died 1926), daughter of Victorian colonial MP Charles Young; they had three sons and one daughter: Harold Charles Killen (1894–1956), Edward Cecil Lyle Killen (1896–1965), William Bertram Sydney Killen (1900–1966), Marion Alice Killen (1898–1972). Killen's grandson,

David Leitch David Leitch (; born November 16, 1975) is an American filmmaker, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and actor. He made his directorial debut on the action film ''John Wick'' (2014) with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. He la ...

, was a member of 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 ...

from 1973 to 1978. Killen's brother Edward Killen (c. 1864–1933) was a well-known pastoralist, having purchased Nimagee, Moonagee, Gerar and Wee Jasper stations. He was associated with Graziers' Association of NSW, NSW Sheep Breeders' Association and Pastoralists' Protection Association of NSW. His children included pastoralists Eric Lyle Killen (1892–1955) and Geoffrey Lyle Killen (1899–1975).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Killen, William National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Riverina Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1860 births 1939 deaths British emigrants to colonial Australia Australian MPs 1922–1925 Australian MPs 1925–1928 Australian MPs 1928–1929 Australian MPs 1929–1931

See also

References