William Townsend (mayor)

William Townsend (1821 – 25 October 1882) was a leading auctioneer, Mayor of Adelaide from 1864 to 1866, and a South Australian politician.

[1] Townsend was born in the London Borough of Southwark, and worked assisting his brother, a potato salesman, and subsequently as a clerk.

He, his wife and child arrived in South Australia aboard the Dutch ship Fop Smit on 2 August 1853.

He unsuccessfully stood in the colony's first election, but entered the South Australian Legislative Assembly in a by-election on 23 December 1857 for the seat of Onkaparinga.

As Commissioner of Crown Lands in the Blyth Ministry from November 1871 to January 1872, he initiated a survey of the Northern Territory.