Edward Williams

Who was Edward Williams?

Sir Edward Eyre Williams was an English-Australian lawyer, politician and judge. He was a nominated member of the Victorian Legislative Council and Solicitor-General of Victoria.

Williams was born in 1813 in England, to Burton Williams, a colonist from Trinidad, and his wife Jane; he was the couple's sixth son. In November 1833, after completing his education, Williams was called to the bar of the Inner Temple where he practised as a barrister. Williams married Jessie Gibbon, a minister's daughter, on 13 March 1841.

Williams decided to move to Australia, arriving with his wife in the Port Phillip District on 13 February 1842, where he initially planned to become a squatter. However, he soon abandoned this idea and joined the Melbourne bar on 30 March 1842, making his first court appearance the following month where he performed well.

In the 1840s, although there were a few other members, the Melbourne bar essentially consisted of Redmond Barry and William Stawell, along with Williams, Robert Pohlman and Archibald Cunninghame.