Walter Maxwell Nairn (17 March 187912 December 1958) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1929 to 1943, representing the electorate of Perth for the Nationalist Party of Australia and its successor the United Australia Party. He was the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

from 1940 to 1943.

Early life

Nairn was born on 17 March 1879 in

Alberton, Victoria Alberton (Gunai language, Gunai: ''Lurt-bit'') is a small town in Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia. It is located along the South Gippsland Highway, 7 kilometres south of Yarram, Victoria, Yarram and 216 kilometres east of Melbourne, Aust ...

. He was the third of four children born to Margaret (née Merritt) and William Nairn. His father, born in Scotland, died in 1890, placing the family into financial hardship. Nairn attended South Melbourne College on a scholarship, matriculating in 1894. Faced with an economic depression in Victoria, he followed his brother

William Ralph Nairn William Ralph Nairn (1873/4 – 1960) was an Australian politician. He was a member of Swan in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1914 to 1921, representing the Liberal Party and then the Nationalist Party. His brother, Walter ...

to Western Australia in 1896. He found employment as a proofreader with the ''Morning Herald'', before joining '' The West Australian'' as a journalist. His experience as a

court reporter A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine, thereby transforming the proceedings into an official certified transcript b ...

led him to pursue a career in law, and he began working as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

under barrister Norman Ewing. In 1909, Nairn was admitted to the bar and joined the firm of Penny, Hill and Nairn as a partner. He was elected to the North Perth Municipal Council in the same year. In 1921 he went into partnership with Grant McDonald, the brother of Ross McDonald. Nairn's practice thrived through his political connections. In 1917 he represented Frank Wilson's government as junior counsel at the royal commission into the Nevanas affair. In 1924 he was appointed by James Mitchell as royal commissioner into the collapse of the Gosnells Estate Company. In 1927 he defended police officers connected with the

Forrest River massacre The Forrest River massacre, or Oombulgurri massacre of June 1926, was a massacre of Indigenous Australian people by a group of law enforcement personnel and civilians in the wake of the killing of a pastoralist in the Kimberley region of Wester ...

Politics

Nairn was an unsuccessful candidate for the state seat of North Perth at the 1911 state election. Nairn was elected to the House at the 1929 federal election, defeating incumbent and dissident former Nationalist member Edward Mann, who had renominated as an independent. He served on the public works committee and as deputy chairman of committees, and was re-elected in 1931, 1934, 1937 and 1940. He was elected Speaker of the House after the 1940 election, unexpectedly winning a heavily contested partyroom ballot for the government nominee to succeed

George John Bell Sir George John Bell (29 November 1872 – 5 March 1944) was an Australian soldier and politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1934 to 1940. He represented the Tasmanian seat of Darwin in the House of Represent ...

, who had stepped down following the election. He remained Speaker after the Menzies minority government was defeated in parliament and replaced by the Curtin Labor government, but resigned prior to the 1943 election to allow him to vote on a no-confidence motion. He lost his seat to Labor candidate Tom Burke at the election.

Later life

Nairn returned to his legal practice after his parliamentary defeat, and practised into the mid-1950s. He died in 1958, and was accorded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

in Perth. His brother,

, was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nairn, Walter Maxwell Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Perth Members of the Australian House of Representatives Speakers of the Australian House of Representatives 1879 births 1958 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians