William Strong, James Clarke Waite, Mayoral Portraits,
Summary
Half length portrait of Cr. William Strong (Mayor 1895-96, 1896-97)
William Strong was born in Ireland in 1832 and arrived in Victoria in 1857. Strong was inspector of works for the City of Melbourne for nearly twenty years before he became a private contractor. He was responsible for the construction of the first wooden pavement in Flinders Street and the first drainage works in North Carlton.
In 1882 he became a Victoria Ward Councillor, was elected Mayor in 1895, re-elected in 1896 and became an Alderman in 1904. As Chairman of the Indian Famine Fund, William Strong raised large sums of money. He also served on the committee of the Queen Victoria Infectious Diseases Hospital, was President of the Committee of the Austin Hospital in 1895, and a vice-president of the Melbourne Hospital Board. At the time of his death in 1915, aged 83, he was one of the oldest and most respected members of the City Council.
James Clarke Waite (1832-1920) was a leading portrait painter of the period and was responsible for a number of portraits for the City of Melbourne Aldermen and their families. This portrait appears to be a study for the full-length painting of Alderman Strong by Waite, which had originally hung in the Council Chamber. Unfortunately the work was destroyed in the Town Hall fire of 1925 along with thirty-seven other portraits.
