Walter Williams West (12 April 1861 – 5 September 1934) was an Australian politician. He was a Nationalist Party member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

for Gippsland South from 1922 until 1927, when he was defeated at the state election by the independent

Henry Bodman Henry George Bodman (8 February 1864 – 2 November 1927) was an Australian politician. He was born near Won Wron to farmer Henry Bodman and Mary Ann Burnett. He became a farmer nearby, and was also an auctioneer at Bairnsdale. On 6 May 18 ...

. When Bodman died less than seven months later, West regained the seat at the resulting by-election, and held it until the next election, when he was defeated by the Country Party candidate,

Herbert Hyland Sir Herbert John Thornhill Hyland (15 March 1884 – 18 March 1970), storekeeper, investor, and politician, was born in 1884 at Prahran, Melbourne, second son of George Hyland, a Victorian-born painter, and his wife Mary, née Thornhill, from Ir ...

, on preferences from the Labor Party.Walter Williams West
''Re-Member'' (Parliament of Victoria). West was born in

Mortlake, Victoria Mortlake is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia on the Hamilton Highway, north-east of Warrnambool. It is in the Shire of Moyne local government area and the federal Division of Wannon. At the 2001 census, Mortlake had a pop ...

to David Venson West and Mary Blewitt, emigrant farmers from England. He moved to

Traralgon Traralgon ( ) is a town located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia and the most populous city of the City of Latrobe. The urban population of Traralgon at the was 26,907. It is the largest and fastes ...

in 1884 and became a blacksmith, wheelwright and coach builder. He contracted a serious illness, and being confined to bed, was unable to continue his career as a blacksmith. Inspired by the American blacksmith

Elihu Burritt Elihu Burritt (December 8, 1810March 6, 1879) was an American diplomat, philanthropist and social activist.Arthur Weinberg and Lila Shaffer Weinberg. ''Instead of Violence: Writings by the Great Advocates of Peace and Nonviolence Throughout Histo ...

, West worked to "exchange the sledgehammer for the pen", and become proficient in administration and politics. In 1907 he obtained a municipal clerk's certificate and became a long-serving secretary of the

Shire of Traralgon The Shire of Traralgon was a local government area about east-southeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1879 until 1994. From 1961 onwards, it did not actually administer t ...

for over 27 years. He was a founding member and president of the committee of the Traralgon Mechanics Institute, serving on the committee for over 50 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Walter 1861 births 1934 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Australian blacksmiths Australian people of English descent People from Mortlake, Victoria Colony of Victoria people