William Hanson MICE (1810 – 14 July 1875) was a government engineer in the early days of the colony of South Australia.
William was trained as an architect, and spent some time in a builder's office, then in 1836 began working for George Stephenson.
He was appointed chairman and engineer of the Railway Commission in 1857 and resigned early 1859,[4] to be replaced by James Hill.
[5] He was involved in the design and construction of the Thornden Park reservoir and its reticulation (piped network) to the city.
William was a brother of Sir Richard Davies Hanson, who was Premier of South Australia from 1857 to 1860, then Chief Justice.