Evan Wisdom

Brigadier General Evan Alexander Wisdom, (29 September 1869 – 7 December 1945) was an Australian army officer, politician and administrator. He was a general in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during World War I and later served as administrator of the Territory of New Guinea from 1921 to 1933.

Wisdom was born in Scotland and immigrated to Australia in 1891 during the Western Australian gold rushes, where he became a successful prospector and businessman on the Eastern Goldfields. He later moved to Perth where he was mayor of Cottesloe (1908–1911) and served in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (1911–1917). Having been a reservist for many years, Wisdom joined the AIF in 1915 and served on the Gallipoli campaign, where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He later commanded the 18th Battalion and the 7th Brigade on the Western Front.

Early life Born on 29 September 1869 at Inverness, Scotland, the son of Francis William Wisdom and Mary, née Cameron. He attended his education at Inverness and Edinburgh. After his education he served in a militia infantry battalion and was later transferred to the Midlothian Coast Artillery.

He emigrated to Australia in 1891 to seek his fortune and settled in Western Australia, where he began as a prospector to Southern Cross at Yilgarn. In 1892, with the discovery of gold at Coolgardie, he went prospecting and found success. Given command of the 18th Battalion in February 1916 and arriving in France in March. He led the battalion during the Battle of Pozières Heights and the Battles of the Somme. He was promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general and appointed to command the 7th Brigade and led the brigade at the Battle of Lagnicourt in March 1917 and the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May. Wisdom was appointed the Companion of the Order of the Bath in June. He went on to command the brigade at battles which captured the Menin Road, Broodseinde and Passchendaele. He had been mentioned in despatches six times for his outstanding services during the war.

Wisdom formally took up the administratorship on 21 March 1921.

Personal life In 1895, while on a return visit to Scotland, Wisdom married Agnes Jackson; the couple had no children. He was widowed in 1931.