William Stephen (Australian politician)

He and his family moved to Australia in 1848, and after unsuccessful attempts at mining in New South Wales and Victoria he settled in Sydney as a gardener and fruitgrower.

After converting the swamps around Botany Bay into fertile land, he established a business in woolscouring and fellmongering.

[1] Stephen attempted to enter the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the district of Redfern at the by-election in March 1886 but was defeated by Arthur Renwick.

[2] The following year he joined the newly created Free Trade Party of Sir Henry Parkes and was elected 3rd of 4 free trade members for Redfern, defeating the Protectionist Party candidates, including Renwick.

[2] Multi-member electorates were abolished in the 1893 redistribution,[3] and Stephen stood as an independent free trade candidate for the new district of Botany at the election in July 1894.