Australian Dictionary of Biography

William Crowe (1837?-1931), farmer, was born at The Glen, County Clare, Ireland, son of Thomas Crowe, farmer, and his wife Margaret, née O'Donnell. He was educated at the near-by town of Upper Kilbane, where he grew up with his maternal grandparents; he was still young when first his mother and later his father died.

Following the example of his uncle, Crowe migrated to Australia in 1855. After first landing in Adelaide, he sailed to the Western District of Victoria, and disembarked at Belfast (Port Fairy), before moving further east to Koroit where land was more easily available. Within two years he had purchased his first land—a single acre (0.4 ha). On 20 April 1863 at Belfast Catholic Church, he married Catherine Aldworth, Irish-born daughter of a Koroit farmer; they had nine sons and four daughters.

Crowe was an energetic and successful farmer. The Victorian gold rushes had raised the prices of primary produce, especially potatoes, and he travelled long distances in a dray to fields near Stawell and Ararat to market his crops. At a time when traditional methods were being displaced, he was noted for his innovative approach to agriculture, a skill inherited by his son Robert. He was reputedly the first in the district to introduce aids such as reapers and binders, milking machines, potato diggers and windmills. Several of his own inventions, including a system of water-cooling, were also used on his property. He was a keen businessman, remembered as hard but fair; in order to employ workers who would not need overseeing, he was said to have offered his employees five shillings per week above the going rate.

Crowe had a long career in local government. After the proclamation of the Borough of Koroit on 7 October 1870, he stood for election and was successful in November as one of nine new councillors elected from fourteen candidates, polling the second highest number of votes. He served until August 1910, with only one twelve-month break, and was mayor six times between 1878 and 1903. From all accounts he was a popular mayor. He was a founder of the Koroit Agriculture Society and of the town's butter factory. He supported a number of sporting clubs, and was a successful greyhound owner. There is no evidence of an interest in politics at the parliamentary level, although he agitated for the continuation of the railway to Koroit after it had reached Warrnambool in 1890. A Catholic, Crowe was a strong supporter of his church's charitable organizations. Aged 93, he died at Koroit on 3 January 1931 and was buried in Tower Hill cemetery. He was predeceased by his wife and two sons.