William Fulton (1810-1895) buried Pres Section 6 Grave 7
For forty years, William Fulton was a familiar and respected figure in Colac — a quiet, industrious man whose life reflected the endurance and community spirit of the district’s early settlers.
Born in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1810, William was the son of bootmaker John Fulton and Margaret Blackwood. His father died when William was just eleven years old, yet he carried on the family trade, learning the craft that would support him throughout his life. In 1854, at Fenwick, he married Mary Dickie, a young woman seventeen years his junior, and soon afterwards they sailed to Victoria to begin a new chapter.
Settling on land at Colac East that had once formed part of Andrew Murray’s sheep fold, William remained there for the rest of his days. Together William and Mary raised eight children — five daughters and three sons — all born in Colac between 1857 and 1872. Like their father and grandfather before them, William’s sons followed the bootmaking trade.
William was known for his ingenuity and took an active interest in public affairs. In 1877 he served on the committee overseeing the building of St Andrew’s Church, alongside many prominent local men. He also enjoyed horticulture, proudly exhibiting “no less than twenty varieties” of apples at the 1876 Autumn Exhibition.
Yet sorrow visited the Fulton family often. Little Mary died in 1872 before her fifth birthday, and in 1891 Annie, a dressmaker, died of phthisis aged twenty-nine. When William died at Hawthorn Bank, Church Street in 1895, aged eighty-five, he was remembered as one of Colac’s oldest and most respected residents — “thoroughly honest in all his dealings.”
William rests beside his wife Mary, daughters Mary and Annie, and his son William, who sadly died the following year.
Research by Meryl Ritchie
Story by Merrill O’Donnell
Narrated by Tyson Graham

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