William Charles Crompton (1865–1911) was an Australian poet.Biography: Will Crompton, AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource. Accessed 4 May 2017.
Crompton was born in Maryborough, Queensland in 1865.
After growing up and being educated in his hometown, Crompton was elected as an alderman on the Maryborough Municipal Council in September 1893.Local News: A poll for the election of an alderman, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 21 September 1893. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.
Throughout the 1890s, Crompton became known locally for writing his own original poetry which was regularly published in local newspaper, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser.Original Poetry: When I Am Dead, Will Crompton, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 19 March 1892. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.Original Poetry: Me and Bill, Will Crompton, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 20 August 1892. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.Original Poetry: The Modern Politician. Will Crompton, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 14 January 1893. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.Original Poetry: At His Grave, Will Crompton, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 7 March 1896. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.Original Poetry: The Ebbing of the Tide, Will Crompton, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 25 December 1896. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.Original Poetry: The Man That I Might Have Been, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 25 September 1897. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.
In 1894, he commercially published his best known work, Convict Jim and other poemsCatalogue Record: Convict Jim and other poems, National Library of Australia. Accessed 4 May 2017. which received mixed reviews.Review: Convict Jim and other poems, R.P., The Worker, 17 November 1894. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.Review: Convict Jim and other poems, The Telegraph, 27 October 1894. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.Review: Convict Jim and other poems, The Queenslander, 10 November 1894. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.
Following his defeat at the Maryborough Municipal Council elections in 1898Declaration of Municipal Poll, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 3 February 1898. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017. Crompton moved to Rockhampton, Queensland.Editorial: More Central Queensland Poets, The Morning Bulletin, 8 January 1944. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.
Despite moving to Rockhampton, he continued to submit poetry to The Maryborough Chronicle.Poetry: In Stormy Hours, Will Crompton (Rockhampton), Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 28 April 1906. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.
Crompton died in December 1911, at the age of 45 after suffering a brain hemorrhage following a workplace accident at Wilson, Hart & Co's Rockhampton timber yard where he was employed as a foreman.Workers' Compensation Case, The Morning Bulletin, 30 May 1912. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.Workers' Compensation Case: An Important Case, The Morning Bulletin, 25 June 1912. Retrieved (via NLA) 4 May 2017.
He is buried in the South Rockhampton Cemetery.2015 South Rockhampton Cemetery Burial Index, Rockhampton Regional Council. Accessed 4 May 2017.
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