Brigadier General Evan Alexander Wisdom, (29 September 1869 – 7 December 1945) was an Australian politician, businessman and a senior officer of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

in the First World War. He was the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the Municipality of Cottesloe from 1908 to 1911, served as the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

member for

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

for two terms between 1911 and 1917 and was the Administrator of the

Territory of New Guinea The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered League of Nations and then United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua were established in an adm ...

from 1921 to 1933. He died in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

aged 76, and was cremated.McNicoll, p. 546.

Early life

Born on 29 September 1869 at

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, Scotland, the son of Francis William Wisdom and Mary, née Cameron. He attended his education at Inverness and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. After his education he served in a militia infantry battalion and was later transferred to the Midlothian Coast Artillery. He emigrated to Australia in 1891 to seek his fortune and settled in Western Australia, where he began as a prospector to Southern Cross at Yilgarn. In 1892, with the discovery of gold at Coolgardie, he went prospecting and found success. With the money made from his prospecting, he opened a store at Coolgardie. He later joined the gold rush at

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

and again had success. He acquired extensive mining interests and set up the Exchange Hotel at Kalgoorlie. Travelling back to Scotland in 1894, he married Agnes Bell Jackson on 16 April 1895 at Edinburgh. Together they emigrated to Western Australia and bought a house at Claremont,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Retaining his business interests in the goldfields, he became active in the

Citizens Military Force The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...

upon creation and was appointed lieutenant in the Western Australian Mounted Infantry, with the command of the Cannington troop. Promoted to captain in 1903 and in 1904, he was posted to militia headquarters in Perth. He later became the

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

of the Western Australian Infantry Brigade in 1908. Fostering a desire to enter politics, he became the mayor of Cottesloe between 1908 and 1913 and later went on to be the Liberal member for Claremont in the Legislative Assembly in 1911–17.

First World War

With the outbreak of war, he was appointed the commandant of the Karrakatta training camp in 1914. Commissioned into the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following United Kingdom of Great Bri ...

in March 1915 as brigade major of the 5th Brigade, serving with the brigade for the majority of the Gallipoli campaign. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

for his services at Gallipoli. Given command of the 18th Battalion in February 1916 and arriving in France in March. He led the battalion during the Battle of Pozières Heights and the Battles of the Somme. He was promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general and appointed to command the 7th Brigade and led the brigade at the Battle of Lagnicourt in March 1917 and the

Second Battle of Bullecourt The Battle of Arras, also known as the Second Battle of Arras, was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the We ...

in May. Wisdom was appointed the

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in June. He went on to command the brigade at battles which captured the

Menin Road Menin may refer to: *Menin, the French name for the Belgian town of Menen *Menin, a little village in the municipality of Cesiomaggiore, Italy *Menin or MEN1, a tumor suppressor associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 *Měnín, village ...

Broodseinde The Battle of Broodseinde was fought on 4 October 1917 near Ypres in Belgium, at the east end of the Gheluvelt plateau, by the British Second and Fifth armies against the German 4th Army. The battle was the most successful Allied attack of t ...

and Passchendaele. During the western front campaigns of 1918, he led the 7th Brigade at the

Third Battle of Morlancourt Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

in June, the

Battle of Hamel The Battle of Hamel was a successful attack by Australian Army and US Army infantry, supported by British tanks, against German positions in and around the town of Le Hamel, in northern France, during World War I. The attack was planned and co ...

in July, and took part in the Battle of Amiens, storming Mont St Quentin and then the

Battle of Beaurevoir The Battle of St Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces operating as part of the British Fourth Army under the overall command of General Sir Henry ...

. Wisdom was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

for his leadership in January 1919. He had been

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

six times for his outstanding services during the war. After the war he joined the Repatriation and Demobilization Department, in England.

Later life

Travelling back to Australia in December 1919, he was appointed to the chairmanship of the Central War Gratuities Board in May 1920. He was successful in applying for the post of administrator of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea at

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

and served this role from 21 March 1921 until 13 June 1933. As administrator of New Guinea, Wisdom protected a system of indentured labor that allowed planters, traders and mining companies to extract the resources of New Guinea. His wife took ill during his appointment and they travelled to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, where she died in November 1931. He went on to resuming his business interests in Western Australia, while living in Melbourne. He died without issue on 7 December 1945 at St. Andrews Hospital in Melbourne and was cremated.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wisdom, Evan 1869 births 1945 deaths Australian generals Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Administrators of the Territory of New Guinea Military personnel from Inverness