John Walter (politician)

{{Short description|Australian politician}}

{{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix =

|name = John Walter

|honorific-suffix =

|image = John Russell Walter.png

|image_size = 140px

|caption =

|office = Member of the Legislative Assembly
of Western Australia

|constituency = Nelson

|term_start = 11 December 1903

|term_end = 28 June 1904

|predecessor = Sir James Lee-Steere

|successor = Charles Layman

|birth_date = {{Birth date|1863|6|23|df=y}}

|birth_place = Bishop's Hull, Somerset, England

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1944|6|27|1863|6|23|df=y}}

|death_place = Bridgetown, Western Australia

|party =

|alma_mater = University of Oxford

}}

John Russell Walter (23 June, 1863 – 27 June, 1944) was an Australian farmer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1903 to 1904, representing the seat of Nelson.

Walter was born in Bishop's Hull, Somerset, England. In February 1881, at 17 years of age, he entered into the University of Oxford,{{alox2|title=Walter, John Russell}} where, like his brother William, he competed in bicycle races{{cite web|url=https://www.cyclingranking.com/rider/94481/t-r-walter|title=Palmares John Russell Walter on CyclingRanking|publisher=CyclingRanking.com}} as a member of the Oxford University Cycling Club. After leaving school, he lived in Canada for a period, spending two years at the Ontario Agricultural College in Toronto.[http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/(Lookup)/6B146BCC567516D9482577E50028A828?OpenDocument John Russell Walter] – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 15 May 2016. He migrated to Western Australia in 1887,[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/210256357 "INTERESTING HISTORY OF BRIDGETOWN PIONEERS"] – The Blackwood Times (Bunbury, Western Australia), 31 December 1953. joining his older brother, William Ardagh Gardner Walter (later a well-known magistrate).{{cite AuDB |first=Black|last=David|authorlink=David Black (historian)|title=Walter, William Ardagh Gardner (1860–1940) |volume=12|edition= |year=1990|id2=walter-william-ardagh-gardner-8972|accessdate= }} After a few months near Busselton, Walter acquired a property near Bridgetown, where he farmed sheep. He was elected to the Nelson Road Board in 1901, and served until 1909, including as chairman for several periods. Following the death of Sir James Lee-Steere in December 1903, Walter was nominated for his vacant seat of Nelson, and was elected unopposed.[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24839898 "THE NELSON ELECTORATE."] – The West Australian, 12 December 1903. Once in parliament, he sat as a Ministerialist (an opponent of the government of Walter James).[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/89805485 "W.A. PARLIAMENT."] – Kalgoorlie Miner, 16 December 1903. However, Walter's time in parliament was short-lived, as he did not nominate for the 1904 state election. He recontested Nelson at the 1905 election, but was unsuccessful in regaining his seat, losing to his successor, Charles Layman.{{cite book|last=Black|first=David|authorlink=David Black (historian)|last2=Prescott|first2=Valerie|title=Election statistics : Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996|year=1997|publisher=Western Australian Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission|location=Perth, [W.A.]|isbn=0730984095}} After leaving parliament, Walter remained active in local affairs in Bridgetown, serving as a justice of the peace and as president of the local agricultural society. He died in June 1944, aged 81.