Sir George Victor Lansell (3 October 1883 – 9 January 1959) was an English-born Australian politician. He was born in London to mining entrepreneur George Lansell and Harriet Edith Bassford. He was educated in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

and at

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

, and in 1906 inherited his father's estate of £6 million. He owned the ''Bendigo Independent'' newspaper and merged it with the ''

Bendigo Advertiser The ''Bendigo Advertiser'' (commonly referred to as ''"The Addy"'') is an Australian regional newspaper. It is the daily (Monday–Saturday) newspaper for Bendigo, Victoria, and its surrounding region. The paper is published by Australian Commu ...

'' in 1918, and was chairman of a large number of media and other companies around regional Victoria. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served in the AIF with the 38th Battalion, becoming a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

but being wounded on the Western Front. In 1923 he was awarded the

Volunteer Decoration The Volunteer Officers' Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was instituted in 1892 as an award for long and meritorious service by officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. Award of the decoration was discontinued in the United Kingdom ...

and promoted to commanding officer of his battalion; he was raised to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1927 and appointed a

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 ...

in 1937. In 1928 he had won election to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

member for

Bendigo Province Bendigo Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council . It was created in the redistribution of provinces in June 1904, North Central Province being abolished. Bendigo Province itself was abolished in 1988. Members These w ...

. In 1944 he defected to the Country Party, but he joined the

Liberal and Country Party The Victorian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division), and branded as Liberal Victoria, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in ...

in 1949; he remained sympathetic to the Country Party government of John McDonald. Lansell was knighted in 1951, but lost his seat in the council the following year. He died in Bendigo in 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lansell, George 1883 births 1959 deaths Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Knights Bachelor Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Victoria British emigrants to Australia