William Russell (Australian politician)

William Russell (20 October 1842 – 28 June 1912) was a Scottish-born Australian politician. He was a liberal member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1895 to 1900 and an Australian Labor Party member of the South Australian House of Assembly (Burra) (1901-1902) and the Australian Senate (1906-1912).[1]

William Russell
Senator for South Australia
In office 1 January 1907 – 28 June 1912
Succeeded by	John Shannon
Personal details
Born	(1842-10-20)20 October 1842 Glassford, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died	28 June 1912(1912-06-28) (aged 69) Tumby Bay, South Australia
Nationality	Scottish Australian
Political party	Labor
Occupation	Solicitor

Russell was born in Glassford, Scotland, where he became a farm worker. In 1886, he migrated to South Australia, spending three years working on a farm at Alma Plains and three years as a selector at Gulnare Plains before establishing a larger property near Caltowie. He later farmed at Belton in the state's north, where better seasons saw him achieve more success than drought-affected predecessors, and finally near Belalie before retiring from farming in 1900. He was a District Council of Caltowie councillor for five years and a District Council of Carrieton councillor for three years, serving a term as Carrieton chairman.[2][3] He was a member of the South Australian Farmers Union for many years and served a term as vice-president.[4][5]

Russell was elected to the Legislative Council as a liberal for the North-Eastern District at the 1894 election.[6][7] He supported women's suffrage, adult suffrage for the House of Assembly and an increased franchise for the Legislative Council.[2] He was a member of a Taxation Commission investigating the state Taxation Department, and opposed the introduction of an income tax, viewing it as unjust.[4] He sought re-election as a Labor candidate at the May 1900 election, but was defeated.[6][4] Russell returned to politics a year later when he won a 1901 by-election for the House of Assembly seat of Burra upon the resignation of Frederick Holder, but lost his seat at the 1902 election. He unsuccessfully contested a Legislative Council by-election in 1903 and the 1905 election.[2][4][6][8]

He was elected to the Senate for the Labor Party at the 1906 federal election.[1][9] The Observer wrote that "Russell was not a cultured speaker, but his addresses on the hustings and in Parliament were forceful, and characterized by a rugged native eloquence."[10] In June 1912, he was campaigning with Alexander Poynton at Lipson when he began experiencing heart problems; he was taken to a private hospital at Tumby Bay, but died there on 28 June.[11] He was buried at Payneham Cemetery.[2] His death necessitated an appointment to replace him in the Senate; the South Australian Parliament, controlled by the Liberal Union, successfully installed Liberal John Shannon, the first instance when a Senator of a different party was appointed.[9][lower-alpha 1]