Sir Reginald Victor Wilson

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(30 June 1877 – 13 July 1957) was an Australian politician and businessman. He served a single term as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for South Australia (1920–1926) and was an honorary minister (1923–1925) and Minister for Markets and Migration in the Bruce–Page Government (1925–1926).

Early life

Wilson was born in Adelaide on 30 June 1877, the son of Elizabeth Ann (née Tonkin) and James Wilson, a storekeeper. He was educated at Riverton and

Whinham College North Adelaide Grammar School, later Whinham College was a private school operated in North Adelaide, South Australia by John Whinham (3 August 1803 – 13 March 1886) and his family. History John Whinham The founder of the school was born at Sh ...

, North Adelaide. He bought a store at

Broken Hill, New South Wales Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

in 1898 and he married Lily May Suckling in February 1901. He was elected an alderman of the City of Broken Hill in 1908, but moved to Adelaide in 1909. He was mayor of the

Corporate Town of St Peters The Corporate Town of St Peters was a local government area in South Australia from 1883 to 1997. It was proclaimed on 2 August 1883, when the area was separated from the District Council of Stepney due to differing interests between the rapidly- ...

in 1916 and 1917.

Political career

Wilson ran unsuccessfully for the South Australian Legislative Assembly seats of

Torrens Torrens may refer to: Places South Australia * Electoral district of Torrens, a state electoral district * Lake Torrens, a salt lake north of Adelaide * River Torrens, which runs through the heart of Adelaide * Torrens Building, a heritage-liste ...

in 1912 and East Torrens in 1918, but was elected to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

as a nominee of the Farmers and Settlers' Association to the composite Nationalist Party of Australia ticket at the 1919 election. From 1923 to 1925, he was an honorary minister in the Bruce-Page government with some responsibility for health and immigration. In March 1923, Stanley Bruce put him in charge of organising the Australian pavilion for the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley, London, which was aimed at stimulating immigration to Australia, promoting foreign investment and developing markets for Australian produce. In London, he also sought to negotiate an immigration agreement with the United Kingdom. He later negotiated a reciprocal trade agreement with Canada, which still gives some preferences for cars and car parts. Wilson returned to Australia in June 1924 and was appointed Minister for Markets and Migration in January 1925. Although he had joined the Country Party, he refused to attend its parliamentary meetings and he refused to nominate for its pre-selection at the 1925 election on the basis that pre-selection should be automatic for ministers. As a result, the South Australian Country Party refused to endorse him and, even with Bruce's support, he gained only fourth place on the non-Labor ticket for the Senate and, as a result, failed to be re-elected.

Later life

Wilson moved to Sydney in the late 1920s. He was president of the Motion Picture Distributors' Association from 1927 to 1939 and was accused of favouring American over Australian and British films. Wilson also served on the National Health and Medical Research Council (1938–1946), senior vice-chairman of the Royal North Shore Hospital (1938–1957), and chairman of National Press Ltd, the publisher of '' Smith's Weekly''. He died in his house in the Sydney suburb of Neutral Bay on 13 July 1957, survived by two daughters.

Honours

Wilson was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1926.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Victor 1877 births 1957 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Mayors of places in South Australia 20th-century Australian politicians