The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/West-Erskine, William Alexander Erskine
West-Erskine, William Alexander Erskine, M.A., eldest son of Rev. William James West, M.A., Rector of Delgany, Ireland, by his marriage with Elmina, eldest surviving daughter and co-heir of Alexander Erskine, of Bulhall, county Forfar, and Longhaven, county Aberdeen, was born on Sept. 12th, 1839, at Anamoe, county Wicklow, Ireland, and was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford. Having emigrated to South Australia, he was member for Mount Barker in the Legislative Assembly of that colony from 1872 to 1875 and for Encounter Bay from 1878 to 1881. Mr. West-Erskine, who was Minister of Public Works in the Boucaut Government from June 1875 to Feb. 1876, was elected to the Legislative Council of South Australia in May 1885, but retired in 1891, when he returned to England. In 1872 he assumed the name of Erskine, by royal licence, in addition to his patronymic.