William Bull (landowner)
William Thomas Bull (21 August 1867 – 3 February 1956) was an early Australian landowner in the Riverina region.
He was born in Ballarat, Victoria, to Thomas William Bull and Emily Bull (nee Lanyon). In 1884 he moved to the Riverina with his father and other family members, taking up land around Jondaryan (now Griffith).
The family faced severe droughts in 1896 and 1899. William Bull’s 134-foot-deep well helped the Jondaryan district survive. Their land later became part of the De Bortoli vineyard estate, and De Bortoli started a William Bull Brewery in his honour.
In the 1900s, when irrigation projects began, the government resumed much of the land. He married Marion Augusta Agnes Bull in 1911 and, at age 45, had to start over. He bought 5,000 acres from Sir Samuel McCaughey on Goolgumbla Station near Jerilderie.
Bull retired to Deniliquin, where he died on 3 February 1956 and was buried with his wife Agnes. He left six children: William, Stuart, Ella (Lynch), John, Donald and Lloyd.
The New South Wales village of Bilbul, near Griffith, was named in his honour.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:45 (CET).