William James Adey CMG (27 May 1874 – 23 May 1956) was an Australian educationist and public servant.

[1] In 1909 Adey was appointed inaugural headmaster of Adelaide High School, a position he held until 1919.

In 1929 he became Director of Education, although he was the second choice and was instructed to limit himself to following his predecessor's plan; not a reformer, he followed this directive, but his administrative and teaching ability was widely admired.

He was unable to prevent the introduction of school fees altogether but attempted to offset the social inequality they caused.

Adey served on the council of the University of Adelaide from 1929 to 1950 and chaired a 1939 government committee inquiring into delinquent children and state wards.