William Mercer (Australian politician)

Major William Drummond Mercer (1796–1871) was a British Army officer, landowner, pastoralist and politician in colonial New South Wales.[1][2]

Mercer was the only surviving nephew of George Mercer.[2] Major Mercer, having retired from the 16th Lancers, departed Calcutta and arrived in Hobart in March 1838 along with his cousin, Lieutenant George Duncan Mercer. Mercer was a pastoralist with his two cousins, George Duncan Mercer and John Henry Mercer in properties near Geelong.[1][2] Mercer was elected to the district of Port Phillip in the New South Wales Legislative Council in June 1850.[1] He held that seat until it was abolished prior to the creation of Victoria (Australia) as a separate colony. Mercer returned to Scotland and settled in Perthshire.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Major William Drummond Mercer (1796-1871)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Brown, P. L. "Mercer, William Drummond (1796–1871)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 10 June 2014.

 

New South Wales Legislative Council
Preceded by Member for Port Phillip
1850–1851
Served alongside: Charles Ebden, Henry Moor
John Dickson, William Macarthur
Colony of Victoria
established