Pastoralist and government officer

William Mitchell was born in Leicester, England, and arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1833 as a writer in the Executive Council's Office; acting colonial secretary in 1837 and assistant colonial secretary in 1839; grazier at Barfold station near Kyneton (which he selected the site for in 1848);  1853 to 1855 was chief commissioner of police; travelled to England in 1854-55; on his return in 1856 elected to the Legislative Council for the North-Western Province until 1858, serving as postmaster-general in 1857-58. He returned to parliament less than a year later when he was elected at a by-election for the North-Western Province in 1859. In 1861-63 he was minister for railways and roads, and he became President of the Legislative Council in 1870. Mitchell remained as President until his death at Barfold in 1884. He remained always a strongly conservative and resolute defender of the Legislative Council.