Ivan Welsh

Who was Ivan Welsh?

Ivan Joseph Welsh was an Australian politician.

Born in Newcastle, Welsh attended Newcastle Boys' High School from 1952 to 1955 and served in the army from 1958 to 1967, including periods in Malaya and Vietnam. In 1961, he married Lorraine Gay Cox. After his military service concluded, he became a restaurateur, caterer and salesman, and in 1984 was elected to Lake Macquarie City Council, becoming mayor in 1987.

In 1988, he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as an Independent, representing the seat of Swansea. He held the seat until his defeat by the Labor candidate in 1991, in which year he also lost the mayoralty. He continued to contest both state and federal elections, both as an Independent and as a member of the Liberal Party. Welsh died at Newcastle in 2007, and was cremated.