Vale William 'Bill' Hamilton

18/08/2021

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of William 'Bill' Hamilton on 4 August 2021 aged 90.

Bill was one of Australia's longest serving insolvency practitioners, a driving force behind the rise of independent insolvency firms, and one of the most respected and well-loved members of the profession.

Early in his career, he was a member of a small roster of Official Liquidators in NSW who were assigned a significant proportion of court appointments on rotation.

Together with Ian Ferrier, Bill established Hamilton Ferrier in 1960. At the time insolvency practices tended to be within large accountancy firms.

According to Bill's colleague Brian Silvia, Hamilton Ferrier brought a heightened sense of professionalism. 'Many of the benchmarks which Hamilton Ferrier established came to be the industry standard,' Silvia said.

At its peak, prior to its split in 1976, Hamilton Ferrier had around 40 staff, many of whom went on to have highly successful careers of their own.

'Bill possessed enormous discipline as an individual, being absolutely focused on his work, always striving to produce a top quality job at a reasonable price. He also expressed that discipline in other aspects of his life, and in particular at different times in swimming and cross-country skiing,' Silvia said.

In his later years, while not undertaking assignments at the same level as earlier in his career, Bill remained engaged with the profession and ARITA, attending Forums up until this year.

Described by colleagues as a 'pioneer' and 'leading light', his death is a great loss to the insolvency profession.

We offer our deepest condolences to Bill's family and loved ones, and his friends and colleagues at this difficult time.