William Kelly (Australian politician)

Sir William Kelly (1 December 1877 – 27 January 1960) was an Australian politician. Kelly was born in Sydney and educated at All Saints College, Bathurst, and Eton College from 1893 to 1896. He married Olive Miller (better-known under the stage name of Olive Morrell) in London in January 1908.Australian Dictionary of Biography|last=Rutledge |first= Martha
authorlink= |year=1983|id=A090731b|title= Kelly, William Henry (1877 - 1960) |accessdate=2007-09-02]

In 1903 Kelly was elected to seat of Wentworth in the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Free Trade Party. From June 1913 to September 1914 he was Minister without portfolio and acting minister for home affairs in Joseph Cook's Commonwealth Liberal Party Ministry. He reversed King O'Malley's decision to build Walter Burley Griffin's plan for Canberra using the departmental plan and instead appointed Griffin as Federal capital director of design and construction. He also negotiated a plan for standardisation of Australia's rail gauge, but was scrapped when the Fisher government came to power in September 1914. He was in opposition until the formation of the Nationalist Government in February 1917. He did not get a ministry in the Hughes government and retired at the 1919 election.

Kelly separated from his wife, who took their daughter back to England. He died Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in the Sydney suburb of Camperdown.

Notes

Persondata
NAME = Kelly, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH = 1 December 1877
PLACE OF BIRTH = Sydney, Australia
DATE OF DEATH = 27 January 1960
PLACE OF DEATH = Camperdown, New South Wales