Family background
John William Neilson was born on 31 December 1890 in Sydney, NSW, the son of Andrew Neilson and Emily Harvey. He married Mary Veronica Wheeler on 11 November 1912 in Redfern, NSW and they had 3 sons and 4 daughters. John William Neilson died on 9 November 1960, late of Waterloo, NSW, aged 69 years and he was buried in the Catholic Mortuary Section of Rookwood Cemetery. He lived at 59 Raglan Street, Waterloo (1933).
Local government service
John William Neilson was an alderman on Waterloo Council in 1932-34 and 1938-1940. He was mayor in 1939 and part of 1940.
As a result of accepting a bribe, three Waterloo Council aldermen were sacked in 1940: John Neilson, George Cohen and Ernest Navin. A by-election was held in May 1940. Richard B Chew, Harry V Currie and Patrick Kinchington were elected in their place. Mrs Mary Veronica Neilson, wife of John Neilsen, was also a candidate. She later became an alderman on Waterloo Council 1945-48 and was its mayor in 1946-47.
References
‘Municipal and shire nominations’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 November 1931, p. 17, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16801130
‘Three Waterloo Aldermen Sentenced to Gaol’, Truth, 3 March 1940, p. 19, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article169103449
The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 May 1940, p. 11 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17674924