Francis Ford Wilson (29 October 1865 – 17 June 1919) was an Australian trade unionist and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1905 to 1908, representing the seat of North Perth. Wilson was born near Creswick, Victoria. He worked variously as a blacksmith,

wheelwright A wheelwright is a craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright", (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker or shaper of wood) as in shipwright and arkwr ...

, and coachbuilder, living for periods in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and in

Morwell Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the seat of local governme ...

. He served as president of the Victorian Coachbuilders' Union in 1901, and after moving to Western Australia in 1903 helped to re-establish a branch of the union there.Francis Ford Wilson
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 25 June 2016. At the 1904 state election, Wilson was elected to the seat of North Perth for the Labor Party, replacing George McWilliams. However, his time in parliament was short-lived, as he was defeated by

James Brebber James Brebber (14 October 1849 – 30 January 1936) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1905 to 1908, representing the seat of North Perth. Brebber was born in Strathdon, ...

at the 1905 election. He later served on the North Perth Municipal Council from 1909 to 1914. In June 1919, Wilson contracted

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...

. He was placed into quarantine at Blackboy Hill, but died on the night of his arrival."THE LATE F. F. WILSON"
''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'', 22 June 1919. Wilson had married Annie Andrew in 1887, with whom he had six children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Francis 1865 births 1919 deaths Trade unionists from Western Australia Deaths from Spanish flu Infectious disease deaths in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Creswick, Victoria Western Australian local councillors