William Easton
EASTON, William Robert, AMIEAust MC FRGS FAGS (1893-1987)
W R Easton was born in Melbourne on July 2, 1893 the son of Frederick Spencer Easton and his wife Annie Louise Easton nee Pinkerton. His father had died before he was born and his mother came to Western Australia around 1900 to give him and his older brother better opportunities. His education was at Perth Boys School and the University of Western Australia.
Easton qualified as a licensed surveyor in 1914 and was also a civil engineer. He enlisted in the Armed Forces in March 1918 achieving the rank of Lieutenant. Serving overseas he was awarded the Military Cross. In 1919 he returned to Western Australia to take up a post in the Department of Lands and Surveys.
In 1921 he led a government expedition to the northern Kimberley and the district of Easton in the Kimberley is named after him.
Easton was a member of the WA Institution of Engineers and was a foundation associate member of the Institution of Engineers Australia in 1919. He became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1922.
In 1924 he moved from being Inspector of Pastoral Leases in WA to become the Chair of the Northern Territory Land Board. He was a member of the Northern Territory Commission in 1926 and Chairman of the Land Board in Darwin in 1927. He was appointed Surveyor General of the Northern Territory in 1927.
In June 1931 he married Gertrude Styles at Government House in Darwin and they had three children before her death in 1936.
Easton left the Northern Territory public service in 1931 and returned to Perth. He had nominated for the Federal Seat of the Northern Territory, only failing by 13 votes to unseat the incumbent member.
He farmed at Namban near Moora from 1932 to 1945.
He married for a second time, to Gwendoline Herman, and they had a further two children. He died in Perth on October 25, 1987.
Reference:
Margaret A Sacks, Editor, The WAY79 Who is Who, Crawley Publishers, Nedlands, 1980
Kalgoorlie Miner, 5.8.1924, p. 3.
Brisbane Telegraph, 20.2.1932, p. 5.
http://www.kimberleysociety.org/images/kimbsoc-eeniawadoo.pdf accessed November 26, 2019
Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography, Charles Darwin University Press, 2008.
