William Hedges (Australian politician)

William Noah Hedges (16 July 1856 – 21 November 1935) was an Australian politician. Born in Hertfordshire in England, he moved to Australia in 1878. He ran a stone quarry in Queensland, and then moved to South Australia where he was contracted to repair bridges and buildings at Mount Barker. He worked in Adelaide for several years building wharves and railways.

He moved to Western Australia in 1893, where he bought and managed a timber and firewood company. He owned farms in Western Australia and South Australia. In 1906, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the member for Fremantle. He was the only representative of the Western Australian Party. Although John Forrest was the leader of the party, Forrest took no part in the Western Australian Party. Hedges joined the newly formed Commonwealth Liberal Party in 1909. He held the seat until he was defeated in 1913. He was also unsuccessful in elections in 1918, 1919 and 1922.

He wrote several small books, "A practical scheme for land settlement in Western Australia" (1922), "Proposals for agricultural railways in Western Australia" (1924), and "Wheat growing in Western Australia" (1930).

In 1929, he became President of the Western Australian Employers Federation. He remained in this position until his death in 1935.

References

Category:Commonwealth Liberal Party politicians
Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Category:1856 births
Category:1935 deaths