Walter Hughes Duncan was a South Australian pastoralist and politician.
Background
Duncan was born the second son of (sea) Captain John Duncan (died 24 April 1880) in Anstruther, Fifeshire, Scotland, and came out to South Australia with his parents in 1854. His father was a partner with his brother-in-law Sir Walter W. Hughes, who was running sheep and cattle at Hoyle"s Plains and on Yorke Peninsula in the vicinity of Wallaroo and Moonta.
Education
He was educated at Stanley Grammar School, at Watervale, at Saint Peter"s College, Adelaide, and studied for two years at Cambridge.
Career
He was a successful pastoralist, owning "Mernowie" of 1,800 acres (730 ha) near Marrabel and shareholder in the Wallaroo and Moonta mines. He was a councillor with Waterloo District Council for three years, then stood, unsuccessfully, for the Assembly seat of Burra in 1891, and again in 1893. He was an attentive listener, and only ever spoke in Parliament on matters with which he was completely conversant.
He was "one of Nature"s gentlemen".
He died suddenly at sea on the South.S. Ormuz on his return journey from London, somewhere between Portuguese Said and Colombo, and was buried at sea.
Membership
He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1896 to 1906, representing the electorates of Onkaparinga (1896-1902) and Murray (1902-1906).