William Bispham Propsting, CMG (4 June 1861 – 3 December 1937) was an Australian lawyer and politician. He served as premier of Tasmania from 1903 to 1904. He was a member of the parliament of Tasmania for over 35 years and also served terms as Attorney-General of Tasmania and president of the Tasmanian Legislative Council.
Propsting was born in Hobart on 4 June 1861. He was the son of Hannah (née Cater) and Henry Propsting. His father had been transported to Van Diemen's Land as a convict in 1831 for stealing geese. He went on to become a successful merchant and an alderman of the City of Hobart, also reputedly fathering 26 children.
Propsting attended the Derwent School in Hobart run by F. V. Norman. He moved to South Australia in 1879 and began working as a pupil-teacher. He attended the Teachers' Training College and University of Adelaide. He subsequently taught at the Sturt Street School in Adelaide and the state schools in Kapunda and Burra. In 1886, Propsting return to Hobart and commenced studying law as an articled clerk under C. H. Elliston and C. E. Featherstone. He was admitted to the bar in 1892.
In 1893, Propsting married Caroline Emma Coles, the daughter of South Australian politician Sir Jenkin Coles, despite her father's initial disapproval. The couple had three children. He was widowed in 1923 and remarried in 1925 to Lilias Macfarlane. He died at his home in Hobart on 3 December 1937, aged 76.
Serle, Percival (1949). "Propsting, William Bispham". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
"Propsting, William". Members of the Parliament of Tasmania. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
D. Nairn Thorp, 'Propsting, William Bispham (1861 - 1937)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, MUP, 1988, pp 302–303.