William Coghill (-1860) was a pioneer pastoralist and squatter in the Port Phillip District of New South Wales (later Victoria).
Coghill was born in Scotland, probably in . At his wedding in Wick, Scotland in 1812, his occupation was listed as shoemaker.Old Parish Marriages 043/30 501 Wick. Retrieved 14 March 2022, scotlandspeople.gov.uk He continued in that trade until his departure for New South Wales.Occupation shoemaker listed in children's baptismal records, for example William Coghill Junior baptised July 15 1821 043/40 35 Wick. Retrieved 31 January 2022 Coghill arrived in New South Wales on board the Mangles in 1824, captained by his brother John.
In January 1838, William Coghill and two of his sons travelled from the Monaro Plains, New South Wales, to the Port Phillip District, with John Stuart Hepburn and 2000 sheep.Letters from Victorian Pioneers, Edited by Thomas Francis Bride, LL.D., Published for the Trustees of the Public Library by Robt. S. Brain, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1898. p 51 By April 1838, the Coghills had established a run at Glendaruel, near present-day Clunes. By mid 1840, William was back on his property in New South Wales, leaving his sons in charge on the Glendaruel pastoral lease, which was split into two. The second was Glendonald station on Coghills Creek. William later moved to the Moonee Moonee Ponds Creek near Tullamarine.I.W. Symonds, Bulla Bulla: An Illustrated History of the Shire of Bulla, Spectrum Publications, Melbourne, 1985, p.53
In 1846, Coghill formed the Immigration Society with others, including A.M. Campbell and G.C. Curlewis, to encourage labourers to the area. Coghill, his wife and younger children lived on the Cumberland Estate on the south of Gellibrand Hill from about 1845 and became prominent in local affairs, including the establishment of the first Scottish Presbyterian church in the district. William's Sons David and George established their own pastoral properties nearby.
Coghill died on 19 July 1860 (aged 76).
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