Ian Bonython Cameron Wilson AM (2 May 1932 – 2 April 2013) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and represented the

Division of Sturt The Division of Sturt is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in South Australia. It was proclaimed at the South Australian redistribution of 11 May 1949. Sturt was named for Captain Charles St ...

in federal parliament (1966–1969, 1972–1993). He held ministerial office in the

Fraser government The Fraser government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. It was made up of members of a Liberal–Country party coalition in the Australian Parliament from November 1975 to March 1983. Init ...

from 1981 to 1983.

Early life

Wilson was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia, the son of Sir Keith Wilson, a prominent

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

and

politician. His mother, Elizabeth, (Lady Betty Wilson

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

), was a granddaughter of Sir

John Langdon Bonython Sir John Langdon Bonython (; Charles Earle Funk, ''What's the Name, Please?'' (Funk & Wagnalls, 1936). 15 October 184822 October 1939) was an Australian editor, newspaper proprietor, philanthropist, journalist and politician who served ...

, owner of '' The Advertiser'' and a member of the first federal

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, and a great-granddaughter of Sir John Cox Bray, South Australia's first native-born premier. Wilson was educated at St Peter's College and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

, where he graduated in law, and at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

(S.A.

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

1955), where he did a higher law degree. He was a solicitor and company director before entering politics.

Politics

In 1966, Wilson was elected to the House of Representatives for the Adelaide seat of Sturt, which his father had held with one break since

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

. It was considered a fairly safe Liberal seat, but at the 1969 election there was a strong swing to

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 labour ...

in South Australia, and Wilson was unexpectedly defeated by Norm Foster. In the 1972 election, Wilson regained the seat even as Labor won government. He held it without difficulty for the next 20 years. Wilson was relatively moderate on most issues, and joined the Liberal Movement in 1972 while it was an internal faction of the Liberal Party. He was a serious

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and active in many charitable and social welfare groups. This did not make him popular with the more conservative wing of the party. When the Liberals came to power under

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, he was initially passed over for ministerial preferment in favour of the more conservative John McLeay Jr. In 1981, McLeay was dropped from cabinet and Wilson was appointed Minister for

Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...

and

the Environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, biotic and abiotic component, abiotic things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts ...

. In 1982 he was shifted to Aboriginal Affairs, a notoriously unpopular portfolio in

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

governments. He held this position until the defeat of the Liberal government in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. He was not included in the Opposition Shadow Ministry after the elections, and remained as a backbencher. He lost Liberal pre-selection ahead of the 1993 election to

Christopher Pyne Christopher Maurice Pyne (born 13 August 1967) is a retired Australian politician. As a member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party, he held several ministerial positions in the Howard government, Howard, Abbott government, Abbott, ...

, 35 years his junior, and retired after the election.

Personal life

Wilson died from cancer in Adelaide on 2 April 2013, aged 80.

References

External links

Condolence motion in Hansard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Ian Bonython Cameron 1932 births 2013 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Australian Rhodes Scholars Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Sturt Members of the Australian House of Representatives Bonython, Wilson Bonython family Members of the Order of Australia People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide University of Melbourne alumni Australian MPs 1966–1969 Australian MPs 1972–1974 Australian MPs 1974–1975 Australian MPs 1975–1977 Australian MPs 1977–1980 Australian MPs 1980–1983 Australian MPs 1983–1984 Australian MPs 1984–1987 Australian MPs 1987–1990 Australian MPs 1990–1993