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David Sydney Wanliss (1864–1943)

The death occurred at his home at Brighton on Saturday of Col David Sydney Wanliss, CMG, a former Administrator and Chief Justice of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea. He was 79.

Born in 1864 at Perth, Scotland, he was educated at Ballarat College (V), and obtained his BA, LLB at Trinity College, Cambridge. He became a barrister of the Inner Temple, London, in 1888, and later was called to the Victorian Bar, practising in Ballarat and Melbourne. In collaboration with the late Sir William Irvine, he was the joint author of a standard work on justices of the peace. When war broke out in 1914 he was an officer of the Victorian Scottish Regiment. He served as CO of the 5th Battalion, AIF, from Broadmeadows to Egypt and Gallipoli. Typhoid fever caused his evacuation to Australia. He returned to active service in 1916, and became CO of the 65th Battalion. He was mentioned in despatches and awarded the CMG.

From the end of the war to 1921 he was commandant of the Tasmanian Military District, and was Administrator and Chief Justice of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea from 1921 to 1938. He was a brother of Lady Irvine.

Original publication

Additional Resources

Citation details

'Wanliss, David Sydney (1864–1943)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/wanliss-david-sydney-8977/text25626, accessed 12 October 2024.

© Copyright Obituaries Australia, 2010-2024

Life Summary [details]

Birth

20 February, 1864
Perth, Perthshire, Scotland

Death

25 September, 1943 (aged 79)
Brighton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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