William McWilliams
William McWilliams | |
|---|---|
| 1st Leader of the Country Party | |
| In office 24 February 1920 – 5 April 1921 | |
| Deputy | Edmund Jowett |
| Succeeded by | Earle Page |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Franklin | |
| In office 17 November 1928 – 22 October 1929 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred Seabrook |
| Succeeded by | Charles Frost |
| In office 16 December 1903 – 16 December 1922 | |
| Preceded by | New seat |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Seabrook |
| Member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for Ringarooma | |
| In office 1893–1900 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Hawkes |
| Succeeded by | Carmichael Lyne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 October 1856 Bream Creek, Tasmania, Australia |
| Died | 22 October 1929 (aged 73) Battery Point, Tasmania, Australia |
| Political party | Revenue Tariff (1903–06) Anti-Socialist (1906–09) Liberal (1909–17) Nationalist (1917–20) Country (1920–22) Independent (1928–29) |
| Spouse |
Josephine Fullerton (m. 1893) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
William James McWilliams (12 October 1856 – 22 October 1929) was an Australian journalist and politician. He was the inaugural leader of the Country Party from 1920 to 1921 and served in federal parliament for nearly 20 years.
McWilliams was born in Bream Creek, Tasmania, to Irish immigrants. He became a journalist at a young age, working in both Hobart and Launceston, and becoming a newspaper editor and proprietor. McWilliams served in the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1893 to 1900. He was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1903 federal election, standing as a Revenue Tariff candidate. He later affiliated with the Liberal Party and Nationalist Party, before helping co-found the Country Party after the 1919 election. McWilliams served briefly as the party's first leader before being replaced by Earle Page. He was defeated in 1922, but won re-election as an independent in 1928 where he contributed to the defeat of the Bruce–Page government.