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William Liu OBE (1893–1984) was the Australian-born son of a Chinese immigrant labourer and an Anglo-Australian woman. When Liu was seven years old he was sent to his father's village in Taishan, Guangdon, China, for 8 years.
During the First World War Liu, with two other Chinese merchants Yee Wing and William Gockson, established the China–Australia Mail Steamship Line. He later served as Vice-President of the New South Wales Chamber of Commerce and was one of the founders of the Morrison Lectures. The lectures honoured George 'Chinese' Morrison, the Australian journalist who, in 1912, had been a political adviser to the first president of China, Dr Sun Yat-Sen.
William Liu was known as 'Uncle Bill' to the Chinese community in Sydney. He was instrumental in having the qualifying period for Chinese to acquire Australian citizenship shortened from 15 years to 5. He devoted most of his life to developing a better understanding between Australia and China and he was awarded the OBE in 1982.
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