Background
Wilks was born in Sydney to English sea captain Joseph Henry Wilks and Susannah, née Harris.
Wilks was born in Sydney to English sea captain Joseph Henry Wilks and Susannah, née Harris.
He was educated at Balmain Public School and, before establishing a wood and coal yard at Balmain, became associated with Billy Hughes.
He was elected to the council of the Free Trade Association of New South Wales in 1887, having already been president of the New South Wales Literary and Debating Societies" Union previously. Wilks, a Freemason, was the grand master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1888. Wilks was a strong supporter of Premier Reid while in the New South Wales Parliament, and attempted unsuccessfully to defuse an 1899 censure motion against Reid with an amendment separating the issue of John Neild"s payment from the main motion.
He also believed that the motion was motivated by an attempt to ensure that Reid did not become the first Prime Minister of Australia.
Wilks transferred to federal politics in the inaugural federal election in 1901, and was elected to the seat of Dalley. He was whip in the 1904–1905 Reid government, and was useful to his leader in the controversies surrounding Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran.
He was defeated by Labor in 1910, and became a land valuer in Melbourne until he retired in 1928. He was buried at Box Hill.
He became involved in politics, being associated with the Loyal Orange Institution of New South Wales, and supported the entry of Labor into the New South Wales Parliament in 1891 due to his "strong democratic views".
He himself was a member of the Free Trade Party, and became associated with its more radical section, led by George Reid.
