John Wallace Shannon (28 April 1862 – 30 January 1926) was an Australian politician. Born in Angaston,

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 ...

, where he was educated, he became a farmer on the

Yorke Peninsula The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula is separated from Kangaroo Island to the south by Investigator Str ...

and an auctioneer. He served on Maitland Council, of which he was mayor. In 1896, he was elected to the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament House in the st ...

for

, transferring to

Wallaroo Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. The word "wallaroo" is from the Dharug ''walaru'', and not a portmanteau of the words "kangaroo" and "wal ...

in 1902. He left the Assembly in 1905. In 1912, he was appointed to the Australian Senate as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Senator for South Australia, filling the casual vacancy caused by the death of

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

Senator William Russell. This was the first time a state government had successfully replaced a Senator with a Senator of a different party, after Labor's failed attempt in 1907 to appoint

James O'Loghlin James O'Loghlin (born 1966) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter. He works for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Local Radio evening program in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Career Previous ...

to succeed

Joseph Vardon Joseph Vardon (27 July 1843 – 20 July 1913) was an Australian politician. Born in Adelaide, he received a primary education before becoming a farm worker and apprentice printer, running his own printing business by 1871. He sat on Hindmar ...

. Defeated in 1913, he was elected in 1914 (with over 95% of the vote) due to the death of Labor Senator

Gregor McGregor Gregor McGregor (18 October 1848 – 13 August 1914) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for South Australia from 1901 until his death in 1914, representing the Labor Party. He was the party's inaugural Senate leader, and serv ...

, which left the Labor Party with only five nominees. They directed the sixth vote to Shannon, resulting in an easy return to the Senate with 96.!% of the vote. He joined the Nationalist Party when it formed in 1917, and from 1917 to 1920 served as Chairman of Committees. Shannon did not stand at the 1919 federal election, and his term ended on 30 June 1920. He died in 1926.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, John Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Mayors of places in South Australia 1862 births 1926 deaths Australian auctioneers People from Angaston, South Australia 20th-century Australian politicians