William McCall (Australian politician)
| William McCall | |
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| Member of the Australian Parliament for Martin |
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In office 15 September 1934 – 21 August 1943 |
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| Preceded by | William Holman |
| Succeeded by | Fred Daly |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
24 May 1908 Chatswood, New South Wales |
| Died | 19 August 1968 (aged 60) Pittwater, New South Wales |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | United Australia Party |
| Spouse(s) | 1) Georgina Bessie Dart (died 1961) 2) Mavis Michele Dearing |
| Occupation | Businessman |
William Victor "Bill" McCall (24 May 1908 – 19 August 1968) was an Australian politician.
McCall was born on 24 May 1908 at Chatswood in Sydney to bank officer William James McCall and Hilda Mary, née Bowman. He attended Sydney Grammar School, but left in 1924 to support his family after his father's death. He established himself in business as a skin-trader and then a wool-buyer. He was persuaded to enter politics by the difficulties businesses experienced during the Great Depression. In 1931, he attempted to gain pre-selection for the federal seat of Martin for the United Australia Party, losing to William Holman. He was selected the following year to contest a by-election for the safe Labor seat of East Sydney, losing to Lang Labor's Eddie Ward by only 173 votes. He married Georgina Bessie Dart at Chatswood on 6 June 1934.
Following Holman's death in 1934, 26-year-old McCall was selected to run for Martin. He had gained a reputation as an impressive public speaker, and was elected to Australian House of Representatives for Martin in the elections of that year. He was also elected to Sydney Municipal Council in 1935.
McCall was generally supportive of the government of his party leader Joseph Lyons, but became the leader of a back-bench revolt against Thomas Paterson's ruling in 1936 that Mrs Mabel Freer could not enter Australia. He was successful in persuading the government to reverse the decision, after revealing Paterson's mishandling of the case. In 1938 he enlisted in the Militia; he was commissioned in 1939 and in 1940 transferred to the Reserve of Officers. He supported an "all-out" effort during World War II against both Germany and Japan.
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