Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), Monday 5 April 1909, page 7
A NOTABLE VICTORIAN.
MR. WILLIAM MCCULLOCH DEAD.
Melbourne, April 4.
Mr. William McCulloch, one of the most prominent of Victorians, died at Stawell
this morning in his 77th year. The de-ceased, who had been ailing some months,
filled an important place amongst the lead-ing men who played a capable part in Vic-toria's progress, in settling the country, establishing industries, and promoting pub-lic movements. He was born in Wigton-shire, Scotland, in 1832, and arrived in Vic-toria in 1852, when thousands of people
were flocking to the Forrest Creek, Ben- digo, and Ballarat goldfields from all parts
of the world. Mr. McCulloch pitched his digger's camp at Mount Alexander, and was successful from the outset. He was
not slow to perceive that; however rich
might be the windfalls won by the miner, there was more permanent, if less drama- tic, success in the world of commerce. He therefore became a storekeeper, and in
taking this step began in a modest way a brilliantly-successful business career. Shortly afterwards he was engaged by
Messrs. McEwan & Co. as their principal traveller and as storekeeper. As a commercial traveller, Mr. McCul- loch had special opportunities for noting
the lamentable lack of satisfactory means of transit and transport, which then con- stituted one of the chief stumbling blocks to Australian progress. The era of railway
construction had not yet arrived, the
transit between towns and townships be- ing painfully slow and costly. Mr. McCul-loch was the man for the occasion. He entered into business as a carrier and
forwarding agent, and from small begin-
nings he rapidly developed the largest
business of the kind in Australia. His
agencies were everywhere, and were no small factor in local development. He
has been referred to as the father of the Riverina carrying trade, for by his fore-sight and influence almost the whole of the rich wool traffic from the country be-tween the Murray and the Darling was diverted to the port of Melbourne.
Subsequently Mr. McCulloch was one of the promoters of the Melbourne Omnibus Company. This business was afterwards merged into the Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company, of which Mr. McCul-
loch became director. He also turned his attention to pastoral pursuits, and in-vested large sums of money in the purchase of high-class stud stock, horses, cattle, and sheep, and by his judicious importations he did a great deal to help forward the
rural industries.
Mr. McCulloch also had a long public career. For several years he represented Lonsdale ward in the City Council, and 25 years ago he was returned by a large majority as representative of Gippsland province in the Legislative Council. He was a Liberal, and when Mr. George Tur-ner was forming his first Liberal and long
lived Government he was chosen as Minis-
ter of Defence. Subsequently the deceased gentleman became Minister of Defence and public Health in the McLean Government, and after the establishment of the Com- monwealth, Minister of Public Health and Public Works in the Peacock Government.
He was appointed chairman of the re-ception committee, the body that was given charge of the whole of the arrangements for the reception and entertainment of the Duke and Duchess of York on their visit to Victoria to open the first Federal Par-liament. Largely as the result of his ef-forts the celebrations were made a memor-able success, and at their conclusion his Royal Highness warmly complimented him and presented him with a valuable souve-nir of the historic occasion. Mr. McCul-loch also for a time acted as Agent-Gene-ral for Victoria. His family consisted of three sons-Samuel, Colin, and William Mc-
culloch, and three daughters.