Osbert Edrick Wilson
Osbert Edrick Wilson (1857 – July 1901) was a clerk, poet, author, orator and a Chief President of the Australian Natives' Association. Background Wilson was born in Ballarat in 1857, the son of Jonathon Noble Wilson and Martha Stripling. The father was active in public affairs; in 1885 he was mayor of Ballarat. The son – followed his father's lead. He was an active member of the Ballarat rowing, swimming and football clubs, and he was in demand for his recitations at concerts and social evenings. In July 1885 Wilson became a probationary Lieutenant in the Victorian Militia. Then in 1886 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Militia at Ballarat. In 1886, he married Lily Araminta Guthridge. She was the eighth child of Nehemiah Guthridge, an early settler in Victoria. They had two daughters. Australian Natives' Association Wilson was active in the Australian Natives Association (ANA) in Ballarat and the region. He attended of the opening of the Horsham Branch No. 24 and also the Haddon Branch No. 25 both in 1883. He was Chief President of the ANA in 1884, and president of the Ballarat Branch in 1885. Under his leadership the association launched its first great