Historical information
William Hill Irvine was born 6 July, 1858 in Newry, County Down, Ireland. He arrived in Melbourne December 1879 and taught at Geelong College. He was admitted to the Supreme Court in 1884 having qualified from Melbourne University and practiced in Melbourne.
In 1891 he married Agnes Somerville Wanliss and they had one son, William Mitchell (1901 Armadale) and two daughters, Beatrice Wanliss (1899 Armadale) and Agnes Somerville Wanliss (1903 Armadale).
Sir William Irvine sat in the Victorian Parliament (as Liberal Member for Lowan) from 1894 to 1906 and was Premier of Victoria from 1902 to 1904. He then switched to Federal politics and sat in the Commonwealth Parliament (as Liberal Member for Flinders) from 1906 to 1918. He was considered a potential Prime Minister, but his abrupt manner and hard-line conservatism (particularly his attitude to a railway strike) made him unacceptable even to many Liberals: he was known in Parliament as "Iceberg Irvine".
He lived at Richmond, but in 1908 purchased land in Laughing Waters Road at Eltham, where he built the house ‘Killeavey’, initially as a weekend retreat. The site, a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Yarra River, is of geological importance and has considerable cultural significance to the Wurundjeri. In 1912 Sir William moved to Killeavey and in 1913 purchased more land, extending his property to Reynolds Road. In 1923 he shifted to Toorak, donating Killeavey to his daughter Beatrice as a wedding gift.
Sir William was a founding member of the RACV and was Acting Governor of Victoria from 1931 to 1934. He was also a notable public figure involved in several local events including the:
1919 Unveiling of Eltham War Obelisk
1921 Eltham Primary School Extensions
1921 Eltham Primary School Roll of Honour of prior students
1928 Opening of Eltham Higher Elementary School
1926 Unveiling the Shire of Eltham War Memorial in Memorial Park at Kangaroo Ground
He died in 1943 and is buried in Eltham Cemetery with his wife Agnes along with son William Mitchell Irvine and his wife, Dora Haswell
Sacred to the memory
of
William Hill Irvine G.C.M.G.
Lieutenant Governor
And
Chief Justice of Victoria
Born 6th July 1858
At Newry, Northern Ireland
Died 20th August 1943
Also his wife
Agnes Somerville
Born at Ballarat 16th Nov 1867
Died at Eltham 16th Aug 1954
W. M. W. Irvine
1901-1975
And
Dora Haswell
Wife of W. M. W. Irvine
1900-1979
Physical description
Born Digital
