William Archibald Robertson (1832 –June 23, 1926) was a prospector and Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

-born political figure in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. He represented Victoria District

Victoria (British Columbia electoral district)

Victoria was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and was one of the first twelve ridings at the time of that province's joining Confederation in 1871 and stayed on the hustings until 1890. From 1894 to 1963 it did not appear on the electoral map...

 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

 from 1874 to 1875.

He was born in Perthshire

Perthshire

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

, the son of Alexander Robertson, and came to Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

 in 1834 with his family. His family lived in Dunnville

Dunnville, Ontario

Dunnville is an unincorporated community of 6,000 people located near the mouth of the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada, near the historic Talbot Trail...

, then Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 and finally Flamboro West

Flamborough, Ontario

Flamborough is a former town near, and a current community in, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada....

. In 1862, Robertson joined the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. After he was captured and paroled, he resigned his commission and moved to British Columbia, settling in Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

. He was elected to the assembly in an 1874 by-election held after Arthur Bunster

Arthur Bunster

Arthur Bunster was a Canadian entrepreneur and Member of Parliament.Bunster was born in Queen's County , Ireland and was educated in Dublin, attending Trinity College. He came to Vancouver Island in 1856 and settled in Victoria, British Columbia. After trying his hand at several other ventures,...

 and Amor De Cosmos

Amor De Cosmos

Amor De Cosmos was a Canadian journalist, publisher and politician. He served as the second Premier of British Columbia.-Early life:...

were elected to the Canadian House of Commons. Robertson was able to locate coal and silver deposits. In 1870, he married Matilda Martha Mayne. He died in Victoria at the age of 93.