Charles Graham Wilson (c. 1842 – 21 August 1926) was an Australian politician.

Biography

Wilson was born at Crossan House near

Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. North ...

, around 1842, the eighth of 12 children born to William Wilson and Elizabeth Graham. On coming to Australia, he initially lived at

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, joining two of his brothers at their property, ''Ullathorne''. He married Irish-born Annie McBride, to whom he became engaged in Ireland, in Sydney in January 1869, traveling from Queensland to meet the boat she arrived on. They were married by one of Wilson's elder brothers, the Rev. William Wilson, a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

minister. Wilson's sister Catherine was married to Queensland parliamentarian Thomas Johnson and his niece Emily Maud Wilson, daughter of his younger brother Wesley, was married to Sir Robin Edward Dysart Grey, 6th Baronet

Grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

of Fallodon. Arriving in the Armidale area around 1869, Wilson spent three years managing his uncle John Moore's flour mill, then spent seventeen years as clerk for the Municipality of Armidale. During this time, he established the successful auctioneering firm of C. Wilson & Co. and served as its principal. In the mid 1880's, Wilson commissioned a house for himself and his family in Armidale, ''Loombra'', a large brick Italianate house with stables, which still stands. By 1891, he was "...well on his way to becoming Armidale's largest urban landowner." He and Annie were parents to six children, including Sir

Thomas George Wilson Sir Thomas George Wilson (March 27, 1876 – March 15, 1958) was an Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist. He was a founding fellow of Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and State Nur ...

(1876 - 1958), an obstetrician, gynaecologist and academic.

Political Life

Wilson resigned as clerk of the Municipality of Armidale in 1890 and was elected to the council as an alderman the next day, spending twenty years as an alderman and serving as Mayor of Armidale in 1890, 1894-1895, 1897, 1901-1902 and 1908. He stood for election to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

at the 1891 election as a Protectionist candidate for

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, however he was unsuccessful. At the 1898 election he was elected member for Armidale for the National Federal Party (formerly the Protectionist Party), with 56.3% of the vote, defeating the siting

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

member

Edmund Lonsdale Edmund Lonsdale (31 October 1843 – 4 October 1913) was an Australian politician. Born in Morpeth, New South Wales, he was schooled in Maitland before becoming a bricklayer, builder and contractor. He was also an alderman on Armidale Shire Cou ...

. He was defeated by Lonsdale at the following election in 1901, with 49.2% of the vote. He stood again at the 1903 Armidale by-election as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

but was unsuccessful, with 33.1% of the vote.

Later years

After his time in politics, Wilson continued to work as a successful auctioneer and financial agent, and traveled widely. He died at his residence at

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

in 1926, aged years. He was buried at Kilconquhar, Fife, Scotland with his wife, who predeceased him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Charles 1840s births 1926 deaths Colony of New South Wales people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Protectionist Party politicians People from Omagh Politicians from County Tyrone Irish emigrants to colonial Australia