William Edward Nairn (1812 – 9 July 1869) was an English-born politician in Australia, president of the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, H ...

. Born in Widcombe, Somerset, England, Nairn was the only son of Captain William Nairn and his wife Mary Ann. W. E. Nairn studied at

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

(B.A., 1833), and was granted a license to trade on a schooner his father had purchased for trade on the

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

n coast. Nairn emigrated to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

with

Sir John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...

, arriving in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

in February 1837 aboard the ''Fairlie''. In June 1837 Nairn was appointed clerk in the Colonial Secretary's Office. He was made Secretary to the Board of Education in 1839. He was elected to the

, becoming its president in September 1859. In September 1868 he took sick leave but did not recover. He died at Hobart on 9 July 1869, survived by his wife Maria, ''née'' Swan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nairn, William Edward 1812 births 1869 deaths Presidents of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford People from Somerset English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian public servants 19th-century Australian politicians