William Webster (Australian politician)

The Honourable William Webster
Postmaster-General of Australia
In office 27 October 1915 – 3 February 1920
Prime Minister	Billy Hughes
Preceded by	William Spence
Succeeded by	George Wise
Member of the Australian Parliament for Gwydir
In office 16 December 1903 – 13 December 1919
Preceded by	George Cruickshank
Succeeded by	Lou Cunningham
Personal details
Born	(1860-06-07)7 June 1860 Everton, Lancashire, England
Died	3 October 1936(1936-10-03) (aged 76) Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Labor (to 1916) National Labor (1916–1917) Nationalist (from 1917)
Spouse	Jane Buckney ​ (m. 1883)​
Occupation	Unionist

William Webster (7 June 1860 – 3 October 1936) was an Australian politician. He began his career in the Australian Labor Party (ALP), serving a single term in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (1901–1903) before winning election to the House of Representatives at the 1903 federal election. He served as Postmaster-General in the Hughes government from 1915 to 1920. He left the ALP during the 1916 party split and remained in parliament as a Nationalist until his defeat in 1919.

Early life

Born in Everton, Lancashire, England, he was the son of John Webster, a labourer, and Elizabeth, née Poynton. Leaving school at 13, Webster migrated to New South Wales in 1879 and, having quarried stone at Pyrmont and saved prodigiously, was able to bring the rest of his family to Sydney. By the next year he was financial secretary of the Trades and Labor Council. He married Jane Buckney on 7 June 1883 at Marrickville, and the firm he founded, Webster Bros, was one of the first in New South Wales to observe the standard wage and eight-hour day.

Politics

Webster was a member of Marrickville Municipal Council from 1887, and stood for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seats of Canterbury, Petersham, Wickham, and Marrickville, only to be defeated in all of them. Although he had opposed Federation, he contested the seat of Gwydir in 1901 in an attempt to enter the Australian House of Representatives, but was unsuccessful. However, from 1901 to 1903 he was the first Labor member for Moree in the Legislative Assembly, and as a result of his success was elected to the seat of Gwydir in 1903. He was known for always answering letters and requests from his constituents personally.

His role in the royal commission on postal services was significant, and was in part responsible for the downfall of the Deakin government. On 9 July 1909, as part of these pursuits, Webster delivered a renowned speech lasting 10 hours and 57 minutes, a record which, under new time limits, can never be broken. As a result of this he became known as "the man with the iron jaw". He was Postmaster-General in the first Hughes government, and together with his Prime Minister he left the Labor Party in 1916 over conscription to join the new Nationalist Party of Australia. He retained his place in the government until the 1919 election, at which he was defeated.

Later life

Webster retired to Wentworthville and played no further part in politics. He died at Parramatta on 8 October 1936 and was survived by his wife, a daughter and two sons.