William Nicholson (Australian politician)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other people named William Nicholson, see William Nicholson (disambiguation).

William Nicholson
Augustus Frederick Adolphus Greeves
Succeeded byJohn Thomas Smith
Personal details
Born27 February 1816
Victoria
SpouseSarah Burkitt Fairclough

William Nicholson (27 February 1816 – 10 March 1865)

Victoria
.

Early life

Nicholson was born in

Mayor of Melbourne (1850–51).[1] He was also a director of the Bank of Victoria[2]
and several other companies.

Political career

In 1852, Nicholson won another election, to the Legislative Council for North Bourke.[2] In 1853, he became a member of the committee which drafted the Constitution of Victoria,[2] and on 18 December 1855, Nicholson moved a successful motion which stated that any Victorian electoral act should include voting by secret ballot.[2] That was opposed by the government of Premier William Haines and, after the motion was passed, Haines resigned.

Although it was actually Henry Chapman who devised the secret ballot motion, the fact that Nicholson moved it gained him the credit and, when Haines resigned, Nicholson was invited by the Governor of Victoria Sir Charles Hotham to form a government. However, he was unable to do so and Haines became Premier again.

In 1856, Nicholson visited

Chartist movement there. The system was introduced in Victoria on 19 March 1856, and in South Australia
on 2 April in the same year. It was later adopted by all the other colonies. The secret ballot was known as "the Victorian ballot" for the rest of the 19th century.

Nicholson returned to Melbourne in 1858, and in 1859 was elected to the

Port Melbourne), which he represented until 1864. When the conservative government of Premier John O'Shanassy was defeated in October 1859, Nicholson became Premier and Chief Secretary.[2]

Much of Nicholson's premiership was spent trying to pass a bill which allowed small farmers to settle on grazing lands appropriated by the

squatters, but it encountered strong opposition from the Legislative Council, which was dominated by landowners. When the Council severely amended the bill there were riots outside Parliament House
. That stiffened conservative resistance and the bill was eventually passed in a much weaker form, which the squatters easily evaded. That failure led to Nicholson's resignation in November 1860.

Late life

Nicholson did not hold office again. Parallel to his serving as the premier of Victoria, however, he also fulfilled the duties of Chairman of the Melbourne

Chamber of Commerce. In 1860 he also held his third office, that of the Secretary of the Royal Society of Victoria
.

In January 1864, William Nicholson became severely ill

Nicholson Street
, a major north–south traffic artery in modern Melbourne, is named after him.

References

  1. ^ a b c Serle, Percival (1949). "Nicholson, William". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mennell, Philip (1892). "Nicholson, Hon. William" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
  3. ^ Cook, Peter. "Nicholson, William (1816–1865)".
    OCLC 70677943
    . Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  • Brown, Geoff (1985). A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900–84. Melbourne: Government Printer.
  • Garden, Don (1984). Victoria: A History. Melbourne: Thomas Nelson.
  • Thompson, Kathleen & Serle, Geoffrey (1972). A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856–1900. Canberra: Australian National University Press.
  • Wright, Raymond (1992). A People's Counsel: A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856–1990. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Victorian Legislative Council
Preceded by Member for North Bourke
1852–1856
Served alongside:
John Smith 1852–1853
William Burnley 1853–1856,
George Annand 1853–1855
Thomas Embling 1855–1856 		Original Council abolished
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for The Murray
1859
Served alongside: Travers Adamson 		Succeeded by
New district Member for Sandridge
1859–1864 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Premier of Victoria

1859–1860 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Nicholson_(Australian_politician)&oldid=1153558995"