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

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. 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 continuousl ...

'', 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, Walter James, Newton Moore, and Frank Wilson, including as

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

from 1909 to 1911.

Early life

Nanson was born in

Carlisle, Cumberland Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve castra, forts along Hadrian's ...

, England. He attended Carlisle Grammar School and King William's College (on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

). After leaving school, Nanson emigrated to Australia, initially living in

Broken Hill, New South Wales Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

, and then going to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. 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 Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

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 A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

in the James ministry. He replaced Hector Rason as Minister for Works a few months later, but the government fell in August 1904 (after a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

). 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 The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

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 (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

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,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, in February 1916, aged 52.

Private life

He and Janet Drummond Durlacher were married in 1887. She was a journalist working for the West Australian. They had two children but only one survived to be an adult. Janet Nanson wrote under the nom de plume of "Sigma" in Perth and when she worked for the ''Western Mail'' as the founding writer of "Aunt Mary". She turned to writing about politics for the while her husband was the ''Morning Herald's'' owner. She died in 1943 in Perth.

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 Politicians from Carlisle, Cumbria People educated at Carlisle Grammar School People educated at King William's College 19th-century English lawyers Ministers for education (Western Australia)