Bill Waterhouse
| Bill Waterhouse | |
|---|---|
| Born |
William Stanley 'Bill' Waterhouse 22 January 1922 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | North Sydney Boys High School |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney |
| Occupation | Bookmaker |
| Children | Robbie Waterhouse |
| Relatives | Gai Waterhouse (daughter-in-law), Tom Waterhouse (grandson) |
William Stanley 'Bill' Waterhouse (born 22 January 1922) is an Australian bookmaker, businessman and former barrister. Waterhouse is also Tonga's honorary Consul-General in Australia.
Bill Waterhouse was educated at Greenwood Primary School and North Sydney Boys High. He completed an Arts/Law degree at Sydney University in 1948.
He had worked as a bookmaker’s clerk since 1938 with his father, who was first licensed as a bookmaker in 1898. Waterhouse became a barrister in 1948 but took leave of absence in 1954 after the sudden death of his brother and partner, Charles, and never returned, making bookmaking his full-time career. He worked his way on to the 'rails' (the Australian higher-class, higher-stake betting ring at a racetrack, as compared to bookmakers of the 'paddock'), and rose to be reputed the world’s biggest bookmaker and gambler in 1968.
He engaged in betting duels with giant punters such as Frank Duval (Hong Kong Tiger), Filipe Ismael (The Filipino Fireball) and Ray Hopkins. A man of large stature, he was dubbed 'Big Bill' and 'king of the bookies', remaining at the top for over 20 years. Waterhouse often turned over more than the tote.
As the high-profile patriarch of the Waterhouse racing dynasty, he ran his own racing newspaper The Referee and later wrote his own regular newspaper column for The Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and the Sun. Media coverage of him included articles in The Bulletin, the former National Times, The Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend and in TV specials such as A Big Country and an interview by David Frost.
Waterhouse represented the Sydney betting ring in Melbourne for a decade from 1959 and also was the first bookmaker to represent Australia at Royal Ascot and other leading English courses in 1967–1968. In 1968, the Victoria Racing Club changed its rules to disallow bookmakers operating in other states could not field on-course bets in Victoria, initiated in part as a result of allegations against Waterhouse that he was taking illegal off-course bets, subsequently dismissed by a Magistrate.
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