William Finlay (mayor)

William Finlay (22 February 1840  – 18 June 1886) was a policeman and the first mayor of Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

Parents

Finlay's parents were William and Marjory Finlay. His father, William Finlay (5 June 1807  – 11 June 1890) was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1807. He served in the army and rose to the rank of sergeant.[1] William Jr. was born in 1840 in Ireland.

Early life

The Finlays, both parents and three children, arrived in Western Australia aboard the convict ship Scindian in 1850 and initially settled at Freshwater Bay. Another five children were born in Western Australia over the next few years.[1]

Police

Finlay joined the police force in 1858; he served as a constable in Albany in 1864, moving to Williams in 1869, then to York in 1873 and then to Geraldton in 1874. He rose to the rank of sub-inspector in Albany in 1878.[2]

During his time in the force he married Sarah Coppin in Busselton in 1861.[3]

Albany

Finlay resigned from the force in 1878 and was well remembered for his charitable work, administration skills and founding a local militia.[4] He remained in Albany working as a clerk of customs and a tide waiter and also served as a municipal councillor. He was elected as the first mayor of Albany in 1885.[4][5][6] The other candidates in the election were John Moir and Robert Andrew Muir.[7] Finlay's home in Albany, known as McKenzie House or the White House, a grand federation style building overlooking Albany Port, is a still a local landmark.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Finlay, William & Marjory". Western Australian Museum. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  2. "William Finlay". Great Southern Pioneers. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  3. "FINLAY, William (1840-1886). First Mayor of Albany". Albany Public Library. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. Peter Conole (2013). "The Great Purge of 1878". The Western Australian Police Historical Society Inc. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  5. "William Finlay - Albany's First Mayor". Nabo. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  6. "Obituary late Mr. M U Green". Albany Advertiser. 5 (547). Western Australia. 14 January 1932. p. 2. Retrieved 13 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "News and notes". The West Australian. 1 (276). Western Australia. 18 November 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 31 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Heritage properties put on the market". Albany Advertiser. Yahoo7. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
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