William Caldwell Hill was a long serving member of the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

.

Born at Burnt Creek, near Dunolly, Victoria

Dunolly, Victoria

Dunolly is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Dunolly - Maryborough Road, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. At the 2006 census, Dunolly had a population of 969....

, Hill was educated at state schools before working as a railwayman, station master and wheat farmer. On 20 September 1919, at the by-election caused by the death of Albert Palmer

Albert Palmer (Australian politician)

Albert Clayton Palmer was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he received a primary education before becoming a bank clerk and later a flour-miller and grazier. He sat on Euroa Shire Council and was the leader of the Kyabram Reform Movement, a conservative rural group that aimed to reduce...

, he won the House of Representatives Division of Echuca

Division of Echuca

The Division of Echuca was anAustralian Electoral Division in Victoria.The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It was abolished in 1937. It was named for the town of Echuca. It was located in the Murray Valley area,...

 as a Victorian Farmers' Union candidate. In 1920 he helped form the Country Party

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

. From 8 August 1924 to 29 November 1928 he was Minister for Works and Railways

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (Australia)

The Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport is the Hon Anthony Albanese. On 3 December 2007 he replaced the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, the Hon Mark Vaile, who held office since August 2006, and the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, the Hon Jim...

 in the Bruce–Page government

First Bruce Ministry

The First Bruce Ministry was the seventeenth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 9 February 1923 to 14 November 1925.Nationalist Party of Australia–Australian Country Party Coalition...

. During his period of office he commenced the standardisation of the railway gauges by the construction of the North Coast railway line

North Coast railway line, New South Wales

The North Coast Line is the primary rail route in the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions of New South Wales, and forms a major part of the Sydney-Brisbane rail corridor....

 from Kyogle

Kyogle, New South Wales

Kyogle is a town in the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales, Australia, in Kyogle Council. At the 2006 census, Kyogle had a population of 2,731 people. It was founded in the 1830s as a lumber camp, and is located north of Sydney, north of Casino on the Summerland Way close to the...

, to South Brisbane

South Brisbane, Queensland

South Brisbane is an inner city suburb of Brisbane, Australia located on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, directly connected to the central business district by the Kurilpa, Victoria and Goodwill bridges....

, the construction of the rail line from Oodnadatta, South Australia

Oodnadatta, South Australia

Oodnadatta, South Australia, is a small town surrounded by an area of with cattle stations in arid pastoral rangelands close to the Simpson Desert, north of Adelaide and 112 m above sea level. It can be reached by an unsealed road from Coober Pedy or via the unsealed Oodnadatta Track from...

, to Alice Springs

Alice Springs, Northern Territory

Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...

 by Commonwealth Railways

Commonwealth Railways

The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1912, as part of a government department, currently called the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, by the Government of Australia to construct the missing link in the east-west transcontinental railway and...

, the introduction of a Federal aid road scheme—which provided funding to the states for road construction—and the building of the Hume Dam

Lake Hume

Lake Hume is an artificial lake in Australia formed by the Hume Weir east of Albury-Wodonga on the Murray River just downstream of its junction with the Mitta River. The small towns of Tallangatta, Bonegilla and Bellbridge are located on the shores of Lake Hume...

, which he promoted as president of the inter-governmental River Murray Water Commission

Murray-Darling Basin Commission

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is the principal government agency in charge of managing the Murray-Darling Basin in an integrated and sustainable manner. The Authority is the statutory agency that manages, in conjunction with the Basin states, the Murray–Darling Basin’s water resources in the...

. He retired from Parliament on 7 August 1934, because he was unwilling to sign a pledge to vote in parliament as instructed by his party, and he was succeeded as the member for Echuca by John McEwen

John McEwen

Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...

, future leader of the Federal Country Party.

Hill died at Nar Nar Goon

Nar Nar Goon, Victoria

Nar Nar Goon is a town in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, 61 km southeast from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Cardinia...

, survived by his wife Bella and by six children.