- William Robson (Australian parliamentarian)
William Elliot Veitch Robson (
23 March 1869 -29 June 1951 ) was anAustralian parliamentarian and businessman. cite web
first=Eric
last=Clancy
title =Robson, William Elliot Veitch (1869 - 1951)
publisher =Australian National University
work=Australian Dictionary of Biography
url =http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110715b.htm
accessdate = 2007-10-04 ]Early life
Robson was born at Surry Hills, the son of William Robson. He attended
Newington College (1882-1886) [Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999) pp 168] and then theUniversity of Sydney from where he graduated with a BA in 1889. After serving as an articled clerk he was admitted as a solicitor in 1892. His partnerships were Wallace & Robson and Robson & Cowlishaw. Robson married Ettie Gorman Cusack Whyte in 1894 but she died childless in 1899 and two years later he married Mabel Jackson Wise.Political career
Robson served as an alderman on Ashfield council for ten years from 1898 and was elected mayor in 1899. In August 1905 He was elected to the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the Liberal member for Ashfield in 1905. He was vocal during the debate on the local government in 1906 and throughout the Newcastle coal dispute of 1909. In 1920 Robson resigned as an MLA and moved to theNew South Wales Legislative Council , where he was a member for 31 years.cite web
title =Mr William Elliot Veitch Robson (1869 - 1951)
work =Members of Parliament
publisher =Parliament of New South Wales
url =http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/1fb6ebed995667c2ca256ea100825164/caca06d9705db12eca256e53001389cf!OpenDocument
accessdate = 2007-10-04 ]Business career
* Chairman - Commercial Union Assurance Co. Ltd
* Chairman - R. H. Gordon & Co. Ltd
* Director - Larke, Hoskins, & Co. Ltd
* Director - Larke, Neave and Carter Pty Ltd
* Director - Grenville Motors Pty LtdChurch involvement
Robson was an active
Methodist Church and attended numerous State annual conferences. He was a council-member ofWesley College, University of Sydney and Newington College and a committee-member of the Sydney Central Methodist Mission. From 1924 until 1927 he was a director of theBenevolent Society of New South Wales .Private life
He was a member of the
Australian Club , University Club and Schools Club and in 1902 and 1905 served as President of the Old Newingtonians' Union. [Newington Across the Years, A History of Newington College 1863 - 1998 (Syd, 1999) pp 347 ] Robson was survived by his second wife and their daughter and two sons when he died at home in Rose Bay. His son,Murray Robson , served asOpposition Leader in the NSW Parliament.References
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