William Robertson Jnr

1839 – 1892

William Robertson junior studied at Oxford University and is said to have been the first Australian to row in an Oxford eight, his team victorious in the Boat Race of 1861. He graduated in 1862 and returned to Australia after being admitted to the bar and marrying in England in 1863. He practised in Hobart before heading to Victoria where, in addition to his work as a barrister in Melbourne, he assisted his three brothers in the management of the family properties. William served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly between 1871 and 1874 and again from 1881 to 1886; he also served on the Colac Shire council.

Updated 2011

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Portraits
(view all 5)

William Robertson jnr
c. 1852

an unknown artist
William Robertson Jnr age 13

William Robertson junior
c. 1857

Conway Hart
William Robertson Jnr age 18

Miss Robertson of Colac (Dolly), 1885-86

Brothers on farms

Magazine article by Malcolm Robertson, 2011

Malcolm Robertson tells the family history of one of Australia's earliest patrons of the arts, his Scottish born great great great grandfather, William Robertson.

Elegance in exile

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

Previous exhibition, 2012

Elegance in exile is an exhibition surveying the work of Richard Read senior, Thomas Bock, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright and Charles Rodius: four artists who, though exiled to Australia as convicts, created many of the most significant and elegant portraits of the colonial period.

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William Robertson Jnr

1839 – 1892

Portraits (view all 5)

William Robertson jnr c. 1852

an unknown artist William Robertson Jnr age 13

William Robertson junior c. 1857

Conway Hart William Robertson Jnr age 18