- William Thomas Reay
Colonel William Thomas Reay CBE (
10 November 1858 –11 November 1929 ) was anAustralia njournalist ,newspaper editor and politician.The son of an English
sailmaker and his Irish wife, Reay was born inSydney , but grew up in Williamstown,Melbourne . He ran away to sea when he was thirteen, but left his ship atDunedin ,New Zealand , and worked as a clerk for a while before working his way home. He then attendedKing's College, Melbourne and joined the Victoria Sugar Company atYarraville , where he worked for nine years.In June 1883 he bought the "
Coleraine Albion ", followed by the "Port Melbourne Standard ". From 1887 to 1890 he was editor of the "Hamilton Spectator", and from 1891 he was leader-writer and assistant editor of the "Melbourne Daily Telegraph ". When it closed in 1892 he moved to the "Melbourne Weekly Times " and then to "The Herald" as literary editor and later associate editor.In 1886 he obtained a commission in the
Victorian Mounted Rifles and commanded adetachment of them at the Queen's diamond jubilee inLondon in 1897. In October 1899 he accompanied the first Australian contingent to theSouth African War , serving under Lieutenant-General Rundle in the area of theOrange River , and was awarded the South African Medal atJasfontein after visiting the grave of a fellow Australian correspondentWilliam Lambie inBoer -held territory.Reay also wrote articles as awar correspondent for "The Herald" and the "South Australian Register " until he returned ill after the capture ofBloemfontein . From Australia he published "Australians in War" (1900), which was widely distributed to Victorian soldiers. He retired from the Mounted Rifles in 1903 with the rank ofLieutenant-Colonel , although, perhaps with an eye towards the likelihood of further hostilities, he wrote a report on the training of volunteers based on the Swiss system.In 1900, on his third attempt, he was elected to the
Victorian Legislative Assembly as the member for East Bourke Boroughs, describing himself as Radical and often voting with Labor.He also resumed his newspaper career, becoming "The Herald's" managing editor in 1904. In 1911 he moved to London as "The Herald's" representative and stayed in
England until his death. In theFirst World War he joined theMetropolitan Special Constabulary , becoming a Divisional Commander and in 1915Inspector-General of Divisions. For this work he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1917 and promoted to Commander (CBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours.William Reay died at
Woolwich Memorial Hospital , London, and was cremated atWest Norwood Cemetery , where his remains were scattered.References
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110359b.htm "Australian Dictionary of Biography"]
* Obituary, "The Times ",14 November 1929
* Lord Kitchener's Dispatches, "London Gazette ",15 November 1901
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