The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Burgess, William Henry
Burgess, William Henry, J.P., was born at Hobart, Tas., in 1847, and was educated at the High School, Hobart, and at Horton College, Ross. He was member for West Hobart from Jan. 1881 to August 1891, and from August 1884 to March 1887 was Treasurer in the Douglas and Agnew Ministries. Mr. Burgess, who was the recognised leader of the opposition to the Fysh Ministry, is a captain unattached in the Tasmanian Defence Force, and was Mayor of Hobart in 1879 and 1880. He was one of the Tasmanian delegates to the Federation Convention held at Sydney in 1891. In August 1891, owing to the stoppage of the Bank of Van Diemen's Land, with the management of which he was identified, Mr. Burgess resigned his seat in the Executive Council and in Parliament and his position as leader of the Opposition.