William John Ferguson

Who was William John Ferguson?

William John Ferguson was an Australian politician.

Born in Redruth in South Australia to smelter James Boyce Ferguson and Barbara Robinson. He attended primary school before becoming an engine driver and journalist in South Australia's mining districts, subsequently moving to Broken Hill, where he married Elizabeth Poole. He would later remarry on 8 December 1927 Lily Gertrude Hanks at Marrickville. In October 1892, following his involvement in the Broken Hill strike, Ferguson was gaoled for "conspiracy", and was released in July 1893. An early member of the Australian Workers' Union and the Political Labor League, Ferguson was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1894 as the member for Sturt. Although he became president of the local council of the Australian Labor Federation in 1899, Ferguson's independent behaviour in the Assembly led to his disendorsement in 1901; he was re-elected as an Independent Labor candidate in 1901 and was defeated as a Liberal in 1904. He later moved to Queensland, dying in Brisbane in 1935.