Wallace Alexander Nelson (29 April 1856 – 5 May 1943) was a short term Western Australian politician. He represented the

electoral district of Hannans Hannans was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1901 to 1956. The district was located on the Eastern Goldfields and was based in the mining districts surrounding Kalgoorlie. It w ...

from 1904 to 1905 in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. He was described as the wit and humorist of the Labor Party in those days, having much experience at oration and writing. He later moved on to editing newspapers, and writing books.

Biography

Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Nelson had been ordered to relocate to a warmer climate by his doctor in Sheffield, England the 1880s, and subsequently immigrated to Brisbane and then

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

. While there, he unsuccessfully contested the Federal Seat of Capricornia in the 1901 Federal election, which was won by Alexander Paterson with a margin of 139 votes. He then moved to

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

, Western Australia. In Kalgoorlie, he was editor of the '' Westralian Worker'' until December 1902, having taken over from Thomas Bath, then the ''

Kalgoorlie Sun Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

'' and ''Figaro''. After his stint in parliament he moved to Perth, where he edited the ''

Perth Democrat Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

'', was leader writer for the '' Daily News'' and contributed to the literary journal ''Leeuwin''. After two years in England, he moved to Sydney in 1916 where he edited the '' Australasian Manufacturer'' until a few months before his death in 1943. Nelson was an official lecturer on the Great White Train tour of New South Wales country towns in 1925–26. He was also the author of a number of books.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Wallace 1856 births 1943 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Australian newspaper editors Australian writers Scottish emigrants to Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Politicians from Aberdeen Westralian Worker