John Leighton Nanson (22 September 1863 – 29 February 1916) was a journalist and politician in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. A former writer and sub-editor with ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, '' The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuous ...

'', he served in the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1901 to 1905 and again from 1908 to 1914. Nanson was a minister in the governments of

Alf Morgans Alfred Edward Morgans (17 February 1850 – 10 August 1933) was the fourth Premier of Western Australia, serving for just over a month, from 21 November to 23 December 1901. Born in Wales, Morgans trained as an engineer, and supervised mining ...

Walter James Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

Newton Moore Major General Sir Newton James Moore, (17 May 1870 – 28 October 1936) was an Australian politician, businessman and army officer. He served as the eighth Premier of Western Australia from 1906 to 1910 and, following service in the First World ...

, and Frank Wilson, including as

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

from 1909 to 1911.

Early life

Nanson was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England. He attended

Carlisle Grammar School Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

and

King William's College King William's College (nicknamed KWC or King Bill's; gv, Colleish Ree Illiam) is an independent school for pupils aged 3 to 18, located near Castletown on the Isle of Man. It is a member of the International Baccalaureate and Headmasters' and ...

(on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

). After leaving school, Nanson emigrated to Australia, initially living in Broken Hill, New South Wales, and then going to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. He arrived in Western Australia in the mid-1880s, worked as a journalist. In 1899, he was made an associate editor of ''

'', having previously served as its Fremantle correspondent.John Leighton Nanson
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 3 June 2016.

Politics

Nanson was elected to parliament at the 1901 state election, winning the seat of Murchison from the sitting member, Samuel Mitchell. In November 1901, after only seven months as an MP, he was made Minister for Lands in the newly formed Morgans ministry, which lasted for just 32 days. Nanson was elevated to the ministry for a second time in January 1904, as a minister without portfolio in the James ministry. He replaced

Hector Rason Sir Cornthwaite Hector William James Rason (18 June 1858 – 15 March 1927), better known as Hector Rason, was the seventh Premier of Western Australia. Early life Rason was born in Cleeve, Somerset, in England on 18 June 1858. He was the son ...

as Minister for Works a few months later, but the government fell in August 1904 (after a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

). At the 1904 state election, Nanson had switched seats, defeating Patrick Stone in the seat of Greenough. His old seat, Murchison, was lost to the Labor Party. However, Nanson did not re-contest his seat at the 1905 election, instead travelling to England to study law. He was called to the bar in 1908, and later that year returned to Australia, reclaiming the seat of Greenough at the 1908 state election. Nanson was elevated to the ministry for a third time in May 1909, as a minister without portfolio in the Moore ministry. In a reshuffle the following month, he was made

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and Minister for Education. He retained his portfolios when Frank Wilson replaced Newton Moore as premier in September 1910, but the government was defeated at the 1911 election.

Later life

Nanson left for England in 1913, and did not re-contest Greenough at the 1914 election. He died in

Wimborne Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, in February 1916, aged 52. He had married Janet Drummond Durlacher in 1887, with whom he had three children.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanson, John 1863 births 1916 deaths Attorneys-General of Western Australia Australian barristers Australian newspaper editors English barristers English emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Carlisle, Cumbria People educated at Carlisle Grammar School People educated at King William's College 19th-century English lawyers