William Fergusson (politician)

For the similarly named NSW politician William John Ferguson (1859-1935) who was the member for Sturt (1894–1904), see William John Ferguson.
For the similarly named NSW politician William John Ferguson (1891-1961) who was the member for Waverley (1953–59) and Paddington-Waverley (1959–61), see William Ferguson (1891–1961).
For other people with similar names, see William Ferguson (disambiguation).

William John Fergusson was a solicitor and politician from New South Wales, Australia.

He was a practicing solicitor in Sydney before entering politics,[1] having been admitted in March 1876.[2] He was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Glen Innes, at the 1880 election, serving until 1887.[3] Fergusson supported William Clarke's attempts to form a third party, however these failed with no other parliamentarian joining them,[4] and Fergusson sat with the opposition to the ministry of Patrick Jennings.[5] Political parties emerged in New South Wales in 1887, divided on fiscal lines, and despite his previous opposition to Jennings, Fergusson stood as a Protectionist candidate at the 1887 election for Wentworth, finishing a distant fourth.[6]

Very little is known of his biography, with his parliamentary biography bereft of the usual details.[1] On 14 May 1881 he married Emily Maud Mary née York.[7] He was a partner in the legal firm Fergusson and Broad and by 1893 the partnership was in difficulty, having received £1,000 from a client and £500 went missing. The explanation offered by his partner was that Fergusson, who was in England, had sent a draft and the money lodged in the bank had been used to pay that draft.[8] He was a trustee of the will of James York, and in 1893 the beneficiaries, including his wife sought to have him removed as a trustee and to account for the money received by him.[9]

It appears that he never returned to Australia,[10] and his wife obtained a divorce in 1912 on the grounds of desertion.[11]

Fergusson is believed to have died in New Zealand.[1]

  1. ^ a b c "Mr William John Fergusson". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Admission of Attorneys". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 March 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 22 March 2021 – via Trove.
  3. ^ Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Glen Innes". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  4. ^ Dunn, F. M. "Clarke, William (1843–1903)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Fergusson, William John, Esq. (Glen Innes)". Evening News. 16 September 1886. p. 7. Retrieved 22 March 2021 – via Trove.
  6. ^ Green, Antony. "1887 Wentworth". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Marriages: Fergusson-York". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 June 1881. p. 8. Retrieved 22 March 2021 – via Trove.
  8. ^ "Law report: Re Fergusson and Broad ex parte Lan Company of Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 November 1893. p. 5. Retrieved 22 March 2021 – via Trove.
  9. ^ "Law report: Saunders v Fergusson". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 December 1893. p. 3. Retrieved 22 March 2021 – via Trove.
  10. ^ "Divorce Court". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 May 1912. p. 6. Retrieved 22 March 2021 – via Trove.
  11. ^ "Divorce Court". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 May 1912. p. 12. Retrieved 22 March 2021 – via Trove.