Wilfred Joseph Spruson (1870 – 16 August 1939) was an Australian politician and

patent attorney A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and op ...

. He was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and was an engineer and patent attorney before entering politics. In 1898 he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

as the National Federal member for Sydney-Gipps. He was defeated as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Progressive in 1901. After a further run for

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. Origin ...

as an independent in 1904, he left politics. For his service to the church and for his charitable works, Spruson was awarded the cross

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. History The medal was established by Leo XIII o ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

in 1902 and was made a

Papal Chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

in 1929. Spruson died age 69 on 16 August 1939 at his home in

Neutral Bay Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Neutral Bay takes ...

since 1911, ''Bengallala''. ''Bengallala'' was designed for Spruson in the

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

style by architect

Donald Esplin Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

and has been listed as a heritage item on the North Sydney Local Environmental Plan since 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spruson, Wilfred Joseph 1870 births 1939 deaths Patent attorneys Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Protectionist Party politicians Australian Roman Catholics Papal chamberlains Politicians from Sydney Australian people of Irish descent Burials at Waverley Cemetery Lawyers from Sydney