William Henry Traill
William Henry Traill was an Australian journalist and politician, commonly referred to as W. H. Traill. He was an early editor and for a period the principal proprietor of The Bulletin in Sydney.
Early life
Traill, only son of John Traill of Westove, Orkney Islands, and his wife Eliza Dunbar was born in London. The Westove Estate had been held by Traill descendants for more than 300 years.Journalism
Traill started his career with a regular column headed Passing Thoughts to the Express, while a special commissioner investigating the land dummying being carried on in connection with the opening up of the Darling Downs. In 1871 he married Agnes Lewis, half-sister of his first wife. He returned to the Courier's literary staff in late 1873 when Gresley Lukin became part proprietor and managing editor. Traill served as editor of The Queenslander from late 1873 until late 1878 when he moved with his family to Sydney to take up the editorship of The Sydney Mail. He continued to contribute to The Sydney Mail, Echo and The Sydney Morning Herald.Parliamentary career
Traill elected a member of the Legislative Assembly for South Sydney in 1889. He was committed to protectionism, but otherwise was an independent and was not offered a ministry. He held a position as chairman of the commission to enquire into the working of the New South Wales Lands Office. He was defeated in 1895 and afterwards was engaged unsuccessfully in pastoral and mining pursuits in New South Wales and Queensland and declared bankrupt in 1896.He wrote for the historical and mining portion of the Queensland Year Book 1902. He died of heart disease at his residence at Yeerongpilly in Brisbane in 1902 at the age of 58. He married twice; at the time of his death he had four sons and three daughters.
Personal
On 23 April 1866 Traill married singer Jessie Lewis, daughter of James and Mary Ann Lewis, of Escrick, near York, England. She died of consumption at her home, Armagh cottage, Kangaroo Point, Queensland. They had one daughter. The journalist Pattie Lewis, aka Mrs James Fotheringhame, was Jessie’s sister.- Amelia "Millie" Heddle Traill, a musician, she married Forster Heddle in London on 7 November 1899 and moved to Canada in 1941.
- Thomas Traill Fotheringham Westove Traill, usually T. T. F. Traill married Margaret Province of "Wonbah station" on 29 December 1902. He was a grazier of "Cynthia station" and "Culcraigie", Eidsvold.
- Brenda Traill.
- James Lewis "Jim" Traill part-owner of Traill Bros, process engravers,
- William Henry Traill.
- Walter Harold Traill partner in Traill Bros., process engravers.
- John Alexander Traill.
- Gillian Marion Westove Traill married Brisbane journalist William Evan Dick in Brisbane on 12 January 1907. William was the son of journalist William Heddle Dick, author of The Mountain of Gold: origin, history, geological features etc of the famous Mount Morgan gold mine. Their daughter, Brenda Marion, married journalist Angus Brammall, son of Tasmanian writer and poet Bertha Southey Brammall.
- Randolph Charles Magnus Westove "Rolph" Traill married Gladys Mildred Frances Ellis on 18 March 1907; they had a son named William Henry Traill on 4 October 1910. Rolph was acting caretaker of Hamilton Island when he died of an accidental gunshot wound.
- Pattie Ernestine Orana Traill married electrician, Thomas Heddle Dick, brother of William Evan Dick above, who married Pattie's sister, Gillian.