Walter Horatio Wilson was born in Wales in 1839 and in 1865 he was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland, and practised in Brisbane.
He joined with the then Queensland Premier Sir Samuel Walker Griffith as an investor in the newly promoted Bay View/Scarborough Hotel Development in the early 1880's.
Having been called to the Queensland Legislative Council in July 1885, he succeeded T. M. Patterson as Postmaster-General in the Samuel Griffith Government in August 1887, retiring with his colleagues in June 1888.
Wilson was leader of the council from 1890 to 1894 and 1898, minister without portfolio 1890 to 1893 and 1894 to 1898, postmaster-general 1893 to 1894 and 1898, secretary for public instruction 1893 to 1894 and 1899 and Minister of Justice and Attorney-General from 1898 to 1899. Wilson was a supporter of Federation and was responsible for the standard of time bill in 1894.
In 1878 he was the owner of 161 hectares of Redcliffe Land, making him almost certainly the largest landholder of Peninsula seafront land at the time.
He was important to Redcliffe history as he raised finance for improving the steamship service to the Peninsula. He died in 1902 aged 63 years.
Walter Horatio Wilson is listed on the wall of the Redcliffe Wall of Fame:
A collection of portrait and information honouring the achievements of individuals who have influenced and shaped Redcliffe. The collection is in the Jetty Arcade at 139-141 Redcliffe Parade.
For a complete list of people who appear on the wall click on the following blog post: