William Crooke (politician)

William Crooke (baptised 4 August 1815 – 10 December 1901) was a surgeon and politician in colonial Australia.

[1] Born in Derreen, County Cork, Ireland, Crooke was baptised on 4 August 1815.

[4] He was a surgeon in the convict department of St Mary's Hospital in Hobart Town.

[1] He proposed unsuccessfully for the Tasmanian government to fund £20,000 per year (equivalent to more than A$3 million in 2015) for the establishment of a state-owned university to rival mainland Australia.

[3] He was also Australia's first medical practitioner to identify diseased milk as a factor in the production of diphtheria.