William Thomas Reay
Encyclopedia
Colonel William Thomas Reay CBE
(10 November 1858–11 November 1929) was an Australia
n journalist
, newspaper editor and politician.
The son of an English
sailmaker
and his Irish
wife, Reay was born in Sydney
, but grew up in Williamstown
, Melbourne
. He ran away to sea when he was thirteen, but left his ship at Dunedin
, New Zealand
, and worked as a clerk for a while before working his way home. He then attended King's College, Melbourne and joined the Victoria Sugar Company at Yarraville, where he worked for nine years.
In June 1883 he bought the Coleraine Albion, followed by the Port Melbourne Standard. From 1887 to 1890 he was editor
of the Hamilton Spectator, and from 1891 he was leader-writer and assistant editor of the Melbourne Daily Telegraph. When it closed in 1892 he moved to the Melbourne Weekly Times and then to The Herald
as literary editor and later associate editor.
In 1886 he obtained a commission in the Victorian Mounted Rifles
and commanded a detachment
of them at the Queen's
diamond jubilee in London
in 1897. In October 1899 he accompanied the first Australian contingent to the South African War, serving under Lieutenant-General Rundle in the area of the Orange River
, and was awarded the South African Medal at Jasfontein after visiting the grave of a fellow Australian correspondent William Lambie
in Boer
-held territory.
Reay also wrote articles as a war correspondent
for The Herald and the South Australian Register
until he returned ill after the capture of Bloemfontein
. From Australia he published Australians in War (1900), which was widely distributed to Victorian soldiers. He retired from the Mounted Rifles in 1903 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, although, perhaps with an eye towards the likelihood of further hostilities, he wrote a report on the training of volunteers based on the Swiss
system.
In 1900, on his third attempt, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly
as the member for East Bourke Boroughs, describing himself as radical
and often voting with Labor
.
He also resumed his newspaper career, becoming The Herald's managing editor in 1904. In 1911 he moved to London as The Herald's representative and stayed in England
until his death. In the First World War he joined the Metropolitan Special Constabulary
, becoming a Divisional Commander
and in 1915 Inspector-General of Divisions. For this work he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) in 1917 and promoted to Commander (CBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours.
William Reay died at Woolwich Memorial Hospital, London, and was cremated
at West Norwood Cemetery
, where his remains were scattered.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(10 November 1858–11 November 1929) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, newspaper editor and politician.
The son of an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
sailmaker
Sailmaker
A sailmaker makes and repairs sails for sailboats, kites, hang gliders, wind art, architectural sails, or other structures using sails. A sailmaker typically works on shore in a sail loft. The sail loft has other sailmakers. Large ocean-going sailing ships often had sailmakers in the crew. The...
and his Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
wife, Reay was born in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, but grew up in Williamstown
Williamstown, Victoria
Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Williamstown had a population of 12,733....
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He ran away to sea when he was thirteen, but left his ship at Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and worked as a clerk for a while before working his way home. He then attended King's College, Melbourne and joined the Victoria Sugar Company at Yarraville, where he worked for nine years.
In June 1883 he bought the Coleraine Albion, followed by the Port Melbourne Standard. From 1887 to 1890 he was editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of the Hamilton Spectator, and from 1891 he was leader-writer and assistant editor of the Melbourne Daily Telegraph. When it closed in 1892 he moved to the Melbourne Weekly Times and then to The Herald
The Herald (Melbourne)
The Herald was a broadsheet newspaper published in Melbourne, Australia from 1840 to 1990.The Port Phillip Herald was first published as a semi-weekly newspaper on 3 January 1840 from a weatherboard shack in Collins Street. It was the fourth newspaper to start in Melbourne.The paper took its name...
as literary editor and later associate editor.
In 1886 he obtained a commission in the Victorian Mounted Rifles
Victorian Mounted Rifles
The Victorian Mounted Rifles was a regiment composed of Australian forces that served in the Second Boer War. It was first raised by Colonel Tom Price in the mid-1880s, composed of voluntary forces...
and commanded a detachment
Detachment
Detachment, also expressed as non-attachment, is a state in which a person overcomes his or her attachment to desire for things, people or concepts of the world and thus attains a heightened perspective.-Importance of the term:...
of them at the Queen's
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
diamond jubilee in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1897. In October 1899 he accompanied the first Australian contingent to the South African War, serving under Lieutenant-General Rundle in the area of the Orange River
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
, and was awarded the South African Medal at Jasfontein after visiting the grave of a fellow Australian correspondent William Lambie
William Lambie
William Allan Lambie was a Scottish footballer of the 1880s and 1890s.Lambie played for Queen's Park, where he won a Scottish Cup runners-up medal in 1892 and a winners medal in 1893 - the club's last ever Scottish Cup triumph...
in Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
-held territory.
Reay also wrote articles as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
for The Herald and the South Australian Register
South Australian Register
The Register, originally the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register, was the first South Australian newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836 and folded almost a century later in February 1931....
until he returned ill after the capture of Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
. From Australia he published Australians in War (1900), which was widely distributed to Victorian soldiers. He retired from the Mounted Rifles in 1903 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, although, perhaps with an eye towards the likelihood of further hostilities, he wrote a report on the training of volunteers based on the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
system.
In 1900, on his third attempt, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
as the member for East Bourke Boroughs, describing himself as radical
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
and often voting with Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
.
He also resumed his newspaper career, becoming The Herald's managing editor in 1904. In 1911 he moved to London as The Herald's representative and stayed in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
until his death. In the First World War he joined the Metropolitan Special Constabulary
Metropolitan Special Constabulary
The Metropolitan Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer police force of Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service. Created nearly 180 years ago under the Special Constables Act of 1831, it currently consists of nearly 5,000 volunteer police officers...
, becoming a Divisional Commander
Police division
A division was the usual term for the largest territorial subdivision of most British police forces. In major reforms of police organisation in the 1990s divisions of many forces were restructured and retitled Basic Command Units , although some forces continue to refer to them as divisions.The...
and in 1915 Inspector-General of Divisions. For this work he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) in 1917 and promoted to Commander (CBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours.
William Reay died at Woolwich Memorial Hospital, London, and was cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
at West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and...
, where his remains were scattered.