William Gibson (Australian politician)

The Honourable William Gibson
Member of the Australian Parliament for Corangamite
In office 14 December 1918 – 12 October 1929
Preceded by	Chester Manifold
Succeeded by	Richard Crouch
In office 19 December 1931 – 7 August 1934
Preceded by	Richard Crouch
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Street
Senator for Victoria
In office 1 July 1935 – 30 June 1947
Personal details
Born	19 May 1869 Gisborne, Victoria
Died	22 May 1955 (aged 86) Lismore, Victoria
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Country Party
Spouse(s)	Mary Helen Young Patterson
Relations	David Gibson (brother)
Occupation	Farmer

William Gerrand Gibson (19 May 1869 – 22 May 1955) was an Australian politician.

Gibson was born in Gisborne, Victoria and helped his father on his farm before operating general stores at Romsey and Lancefield. In November 1896, he married Mary Helen Young Patterson and in 1910 bought a large farm near Lismore.^[1]

Political career

In 1916, Victorian farmers became suspicious of price-fixing of the price of wheat under the War Precautions Act and established the Victorian Farmers' Union in response and Gibson was elected secretary of its Lismore branch. His brother, David Havelock (Harvey), won the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Grenville for the union in 1917. At a 1918 by-election, he won the federal seat of Corangamite for the Farmers' Union in 1921, defeating James Scullin on preferences. It was the first win for what would become the Country Party, which was formed later in 1921 from the merger of the Farmers Union and several kindred parties.

He successfully pressed for regulated wheat and dairy prices to be raised until the abolition of price controls in 1921. He was Postmaster-General from 1923 to 1929, and encouraged the construction of telephone lines, the extension of roadside mail deliveries and the building of post offices in country districts. He also encouraged the development of radio broadcasting. In 1928, he was appointed Minister for Works and Railways, as well.^[1]

Gibson was defeated with the Bruce-Page government at the 1929 elections and returned to farming. He won Corangamite back at the 1931 elections, but Joseph Lyons did not offer him a place in the ministry. At the 1934 elections, he was elected to the Senate and he remained a senator until he retired in 1947.^[1]

Gibson died at Lismore, survived by a son and daughter. His wife and another daughter had already died.^[1]

Notes

1. Lomas, L. (1981). "Gibson, William Gerrand (1869–1955)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 9 November 2007.