John Walker (1799 – 27 February 1874) was an Australian politician, member of the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two Chambers of parliament, chambers of the Parliament, the other being the Tasmanian House of Assembly, House of Assembly. Both ho ...

. Walker was born in

Ednam Ednam is a small village near Kelso in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Places nearby include Stichill, Sprouston, Nenthorn, Eccles, Gordon, Greenlaw as well as Floors Castle. The village was formerly in Roxburghshire. Its name i ...

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

, Scotland, son of Robert Thomas Walker. John Walker emigrated to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

(later renamed

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

) in 1822, and carried on business as a miller in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

for many years. He was appointed one of the Commissioners for Hobart before the establishment of a Municipal Council for the city. He was also a merchant and whaler. In 1851 Walker was elected a member of the old unicameral Legislative Council for

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, and on the introduction of free institutions was elected on 6 October 1856 for the now upper house Legislative Council as member for

. He was a member, without office, of Francis Smith's Ministry from 12 May 1857 to 1 November 1860. Walker died in Hobart on 27 February 1874. Walker twice married: firstly to Janet Glass in 1827; they had several children, all of whom except one survived him; and secondly to Julia Speke ''née'' Coverdale in 1858, the widow of Charles Bradbury. His grandson was Alan Cameron Walker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, John 1799 births 1874 deaths Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Scottish emigrants to Australia 19th-century Australian politicians Australian people in whaling