William Montgomerie Fleming (19 May 1874 - 24 July 1961) 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 politician, who served in the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

.

Born in Avon Plains, Victoria to Scottish migrant and station manager John Fleming and his wife Helen (née Hastie), Fleming moved with his family to a farm near Walgett, New South Wales

Walgett, New South Wales

Walgett is a town in North-West New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is at the junction of the Barwon and Namoi rivers and near the junction of the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways...

 in 1882. Educated on the farm, private schools and at the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

, Fleming worked on the family farm while also employed as a journalist for various local newspapers. A Presbyterian, Fleming married Caroline Benn in 1900; together they had one daughter and two sons.

Elected as an independent member for the electoral district of Robertson

Electoral district of Robertson

Robertson was a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1894 to 1904, in the upper Hunter Valley around Scone and named after John Robertson.-Members for Robertson:...

 as a 27 year old in 1901, Fleming transferred to the seat of Upper Hunter

Electoral district of Upper Hunter

Upper Hunter is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by George Souris of the National Party of Australia....

 upon the abolishing of Robertson in 1904.

Fleming moved to Federal parliament in 1913 as the member for the Division of Robertson

Division of Robertson

The Division of Robertson is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. The Division is located on the Central Coast, immediately north of the Hawkesbury River. It encompasses the towns of Woy Woy, Gosford and Terrigal....

, initially as a representative of the Commonwealth Liberal Party

Commonwealth Liberal Party

The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....

, then the Nationalist Party

Nationalist Party of Australia

The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...

 and later the Country Party

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

.

While a member of Federal parliament, Fleming joined the Australian Infantry Forces on 6 October 1916 and served as a Driver in the Army Service Corps until his discharge 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...

 on 27 December 1918. He returned to parliament and served until his retirement from politics in 1922. Fleming became an orchardist in Terrigal, New South Wales

Terrigal, New South Wales

Terrigal is a major coastal suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located east of Gosford on the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the City of Gosford local government area....

, where he died in 1961.