45. Sir Walter Dwyer (1875-1950), lawyer
Walter Dwyer was born in Ireland and migrated to Western Australia, where he married Maude Mary Smith. While working as a clerk in the Education Department for nine years, he studied law part-time. When he qualified, Dwyer worked as a lawyer in Kalgoorlie and Boulder from 1907 to 1909, and in Perth from 1910 to 1917 with the firm Dwyer, Durack and Dunphy.
Walter Dwyer joined the Labor Party and was elected MLA for Perth in 1911, serving one term until 1914. In 1926 he was appointed the first presiding judge of the State Court of Arbitration and retired from that position in 1945. He was a trustee of the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery from 1913, and served as president and trustee from 1929-1947. He was knighted for his services to law and the community in 1949, and died in March 1950 at the age of 75 years.