William Johnson (Australian politician)

William James Johnson (1871 – 30 July 1916) was an Australian politician and soldier.

William Johnson
Member of the Australian Parliament for Robertson
In office 13 April 1910 – 31 May 1913
Preceded by	Henry Willis
Succeeded by	William Fleming
Mayor of Auburn
In office 9 February 1914 – 3 February 1916
Preceded by	George Ritchie
Succeeded by	Tom Cheetham
Personal details
Born	1871 Yass, Colony of New South Wales, British Empire
Died	30 July 1916 (aged 44–45) Étaples, Pas-de-Calais, France
Cause of death	Died of wounds
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Labor
Occupation	Coachbuilder Soldier Politician
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Australian Army
Years of service	1915–1916
Rank	Private
Unit	2nd Battalion
Battles/wars	World War I  • Battle of the Somme

Born in Yass, New South Wales, he received a primary education before becoming a coachbuilder. He was involved in local politics as a member of Auburn Council. In 1910, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Robertson, defeating Henry Willis. He held the seat until 1913, when he was defeated by William Fleming, representing the Commonwealth Liberal Party.[1]

Johnson enlisted as a Private on 14 August 1915[2] and served in the Second Battalion in France. While there, his Division was addressed by then Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes and former Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, then serving as Australian High Commissioner to Britain, and Hughes recognised Johnson in the crowd.[3] The former colleagues were seen laughing and reminiscing for some time.[3] Johnson was wounded at Pozières, and died of his wounds in Étaples on 30 July 1916.[4]