The Hon. William McCulloch Gollan (15 June 1885 – 4 October 1968) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 from 1941 until 1962 . He was a member of the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

. He held numerous ministerial positions between 1953 and 1959.

Gollan was born in Woodburn, New South Wales

Woodburn, New South Wales

Woodburn is a small highway town on the banks of the Richmond River in New South Wales, Australia. The busy Pacific Highway passes through the centre of town...

 and was the son of a farmer. He was educated at state schools and initially worked as a bush worker in rural New South Wales. He later owned various businesses in Sydney including a chain of butcher shops and hotels. Gollan was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as the Labor member for Randwick

Electoral district of Randwick

Randwick was an Australian electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created with the abolition of multi-member constituencies in 1894 from part of Paddington, along with Waverley and Woollahra. It was named after and including the Sydney...

 at the 1941

New South Wales state election, 1941

The 1941 New South Wales state election was held on 10 May 1941. This election was for all of the 90 seats in the 33nd New South Wales Legislative Assembly and was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting....

 state election. He defeated the sitting United Australia Party

United Australia Party

The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...

 member, Arthur Moverley in the landslide victory that allowed William McKell

William McKell

Sir William John McKell GCMG , Australian politician, was Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947, and was the 12th Governor-General of Australia. He was also the oldest Governor General of Australia, at 93 when he died....

 to form a government. He held the seat at the next 6 elections and retired at the 1962

New South Wales state election, 1962

The 1962 New South Wales state election was held on 3 March 1962. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1961 redistribution...

 state election. In retirement he became a supporter of the Liberal Party of Australia

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

. During the premierships of Joseph Cahill

Joseph Cahill

John Joseph Cahill was Premier of New South Wales in Australia from 1952 to 1959. He is best remembered as the Premier who approved construction on the Sydney Opera House, and for his work increasing the authority of local government in the state.-Early years:Joe Cahill, as he was popularly known,...

 and Robert Heffron

Robert Heffron

Robert James "Bob" Heffron was one of the longest-serving New South Wales state parliamentarians. He was the Australian Labor Party Premier of New South Wales from 28 October 1959, to 30 April 1964.-Early years:...

, Gollan held numerous ministerial positions including Secretary for Mines and Secretary for Lands. He was made a CBE in 1962.