William Russell (Australian politician)

William Russell (20 October 1842 – 28 June 1912) was a Scottish-born Australian politician. He was a liberal member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1895 to 1900 and an Australian Labor Party member of the South Australian House of Assembly (Burra) (1901-1902) and the Australian Senate (1906-1912).

Russell was born in Glassford, Scotland, where he became a farm worker. In 1886, he migrated to South Australia, spending three years working on a farm at Alma Plains and three years as a selector at Gulnare Plains before establishing a larger property near Caltowie. He later farmed at Belton in the state's north, where better seasons saw him achieve more success than drought-affected predecessors, and finally near Belalie before retiring from farming in 1900. He was a District Council of Caltowie councillor for five years and a District Council of Carrieton councillor for three years, serving a term as Carrieton chairman. He was a member of the South Australian Farmers Union for many years and served a term as vice-president.

Russell was elected to the Legislative Council as a liberal for the North-Eastern District at the 1894 election. He supported women's suffrage, adult suffrage for the House of Assembly and an increased franchise for the Legislative Council. He was a member of a Taxation Commission investigating the state Taxation Department, and opposed the introduction of an income tax, viewing it as unjust. He sought re-election as a Labor candidate at the May 1900 election, but was defeated. Russell returned to politics a year later when he won a 1901 by-election for the House of Assembly seat of Burra upon the resignation of Frederick Holder, but lost his seat at the 1902 election. He unsuccessfully contested a Legislative Council by-election in 1903 and the 1905 election.

He was elected to the Senate for the Labor Party at the 1906 federal election. The Observer wrote that "Russell was not a cultured speaker, but his addresses on the hustings and in Parliament were forceful, and characterized by a rugged native eloquence." In June 1912, he was campaigning with Alexander Poynton at Lipson when he began experiencing heart problems; he was taken to a private hospital at Tumby Bay, but died there on 28 June. He was buried at Payneham Cemetery. His death necessitated an appointment to replace him in the Senate; the South Australian Parliament, controlled by the Liberal Union, successfully installed Liberal John Shannon, the first instance when a Senator of a different party was appointed.