‘Gentleman Bookmaker’ brought a different style to racing

Bill Waterhouse, "The King of the Bookies", was the patriarch of Australia's most colourful racing dynasty. His death marks the end of an era not just in horse racing but in Australian history. He epitomised a resilient war generation who "gave it a go".

He was also a barrister, hotelier, fragrance importer, journalist, best-selling author and Australia’s longest-serving diplomat – a remarkable life.

Bill Waterhouse working at Rosehill Racecourse in 2009, aged 87.Credit: Janie Barrett

Apart from dominating the Sydney betting ring for more than 20 years, he fielded for a decade at the Melbourne Spring and Autumn Carnivals and represented Australia at Ascot and The Derby in England.

He was larger than life. Famous for taking the biggest bet in racing history at the time – when the "Filipino Fireball" Filipe Ismael placed $1 million on a winning favourite in Newcastle in 1968. Or his Oaks Day duel with the "Hong Kong Tiger" Frank Duval in 1967 - covered live on radio and TV.

Many punters of the day were suddenly intoxicated with the gamble – trying to challenge Big Bill.

Bill Waterhouse cutting a dash on the stand in the early '60s. He could hand write up to 1000 tickets an hour at his peak.

But he was also a loyal friend. When businessman (chicken king) Jack Ingham asked Waterhouse to stop taking bets from his brother and partner Bob, Waterhouse told him: "It wouldn’t be right as everyone should be able to have a bet but I could let you take over his bets yourself." Six months later Bob was "indebted" for a large amount but was relieved to learn the truth that he owed Waterhouse nothing. A small fortune was saved and Bob was cured of his huge betting.

Waterhouse wrote racing columns and even ran his own racing newspaper, the Referee. His business cards would simply say Bill Waterhouse, Sydney. No doubt his 6’4” (193 cm) height and good looks helped. He also had a fair dose of charisma. He could charm the ladies and was just as comfortable with the man in the street as he was with the prime minister of the day or the King of Tonga.

Waterhouse was first and foremost a businessman. He was driven by a Depression era upbringing to work incredibly hard (seven days a week) and to think of ways to do things differently. He rarely took a taxi, preferring to walk or take the bus.

He was born into the hotel business and during post-war rationing he read that a freight ship was diverted from Singapore and so he audaciously bought up the whole cargo of grog. He then secured Richmond Beer from Victoria for their little pub at Milsons Point, The Imperial.

His university mate Adrian Roden (later Judge Roden), who still attends the races, rode pillion with Waterhouse on his motorbike to country NSW to buy wine but was thrown off when the bike vibrated violently on the dirt road.

Waterhouse travelled to England in 1950 with another university mate, Lionel Murphy (later a High Court judge) but was left for dead when Murphy, driving on ice, slid into a brick wall. A passing policeman noticed the ice was melting on the windscreen where Waterhouse’s head had smashed through. He was lucky to escape with a broken jaw and multiple fractures.

He actually became a bookie by fate – his father wanted him to become a barrister and so he was the first in his family to go university where he did Arts/Law at Sydney – along with a fine crop of undergrads which included Gough Whitlam, Neville Wran and the future King of Tonga.

Waterhouse brought a new approach to assess racing form and created his own way of calculating the odds. As a student he clerked for his father, taking charge of the betting. His father would say "I can’t bear to watch" as Bill took on large bets. Later, when he practised as a barrister, he kept Wednesdays "a brief-free day" for the races.

When his brother Charlie died in 1954, Bill needed to support their fledgling building business, so he took "leave of absence" from the bar to be a bookmaker. He told his young wife, Suzanne - who had married a barrister - "it was only for a year". His first clerk was his best friend, Neville Wran (later Premier of NSW).

Called the "Gentleman Bookmaker", Waterhouse brought a different style to racing. Through his calculated gambling he became a top holder within a crowded betting ring and worked his way up to the rails. His clients included a "Who's Who" of Australia. Some were very discreet - one simply wrote "water" on cheque butts to Waterhouse but it wasn’t for water rates.

Bill Waterhouse celebrates his 80th birthday with wife Suzanne. The dinner was attended by Gough Whitlam and Neville Wran.

In 2002, at age 80, following an enforced 14 year absence from racing after the fallout of the Fine Cotton affair (he always vehemently denied any connection), Waterhouse picked up his old bookie bag and went back to the track to train his grandson Tom in the dying art of bookmaking. He again became the largest on-track bookmaker and laughed that the ATC awarded him as the "most improved bookmaker".

Tom with William (aged 18 months), great grandpa Bill and Rob standing behind. In the background is a painting by Gary Shead depicting daughter-in-law Gai training Carlton House for the Queen.

He appreciated, however, the silver commemorative plate given to him by the ATC when he retired from the track in 2010.

Always looking for new opportunities, in 2009 he launched his betting business online - with his grandson Tom as the face to appeal to a new generation. They used the platform Tomwaterhouse.com and the mantra "With four generations of betting in my blood I know what punters want!" They built up more than 200,000 active clients before selling to William Hill.

Bill and his brothers were prodigious property investor/developers, including on waterfront land at Kirribilli. Years later he donated prime foreshore parkland - which council named "Captain Henry Waterhouse Reserve" after the family’s First Fleet ancestor who brought the first merino sheep and thoroughbred racehorse to the colony.

Waterhouse lived for 50 years on the Kirribilli waterfront – enjoying the close view of the Harbour Bridge and all the boat activity - right up until the end.

In the early 60s, he lobbied for strata laws for flats and built one of the first strata buildings in Kirribilli followed by others in Mosman and western Sydney.

He continued as a hotelier – he built and ran several successful hotels including the top-turnover pub in NSW in the ’60s – the Charles Hotel at Chatswood, where he introduced the first Drive-In Bottle Shop and also the affordable Smorgasbord lunch.

Waterhouse always talked about business and making money and generously shared his "left of field" ideas inspiring attentive listeners. Tributes since his passing have said: "I would never have been successful without the advice from Bill."

His word was everything and a handshake was all that was needed in a deal. He was always positive and his mantra was: "Things get better and better!" and "The world is always changing and so you must change with the times."

In the early ’70s he secured the Australian franchise for Fabergé Brut and introduced aftershave to Australian men who had previously thought fragrance was for sissies.

Waterhouse had another long career as a diplomat – serving as the Honorary Consul General for the Kingdom of Tonga for 44 years – under the reign of three kings.

His Late Majesty King Tupou V awarding William Waterhouse the order Commander of the Crown of Tonga (later a Tongan Knighthood) for more than 30 years of service to the Kingdom of Tonga in 2008.

After Bill started betting shops in Fiji, he was called to the Kingdom by his old Sydney University friend – His Majesty King Taufa‘ahau Tupou IV. They brainstormed ideas to help the tiny Pacific nation and His Majesty appointed Waterhouse as his representative for Australia.

The Tongan community grew from just a few hundred in the ’70s - to over 25,000. Waterhouse always took time for the Tongan people and helped wherever he could. He also sponsored community projects such as the first dual language Tongan/English children's storybook A Little Seahorse in Love.

He helped (with a bit from me, by now Honorary Consul) bring the Seasonal Worker Programme to Australia using Tongan workers to help the Australian farmers and bring financial support for Tonga.

He wrote in his autobiography, What Are the Odds: ‘"I have enjoyed loyalty and friendship from a few people in my life - none more so than the King of Tonga."

He regarded his biggest success as his family. He was devoted to them and instilled a powerful bond telling them: "Family is everything and if you stick by each other no one can harm you."

He adored his wife Suzanne, his son Rob - whom he proudly trained to be his protégé and myself – whom he lovingly treated "as equal to the boys" - inspiring me to follow him into business.

He was also a doting grandfather – playfully donning the Santa suit at Christmas - although Tom, as a four-year-old did ask Santa "Why are you wearing Grandpa Bill’s shoes?"

On the Sunday before he passed he was overjoyed to have his children, grandchildren and all five great-grandchildren all around him - a great family send off!

William Stanley Waterhouse: January 22, 1922 - November 22, 2019.