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Basilius Suosaari

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Basilius Suosaari
Basilius Suosaari in 1907
Member of the Finnish Parliament
for Vyborg East
In office
22 May 1907 – 31 July 1908
In office
1 June 1909 – 28 February 1910
Personal details
Born(1861-04-04)4 April 1861
Impilahti, Grand Duchy of Finland
Died4 July 1939(1939-07-04) (aged 78)
Bli Bli, Queensland
NationalityFinnish, Australian
Political partySocial Democratic

Basilius Suosaari (born Vasili Tichanoff, 4 April 1861 - 4 July 1939) was a Finnish-Australian politician and farmer. He was a Member of the Parliament of Finland for the Social Democratic Party in 1907-1908 and 1909-1910.[1]

Suosaari was born to a poor peasant family in Karelia, next to the Russian border. He was sold in a child auction for 13 years and worked later as a carpenter and a miner.[1] In 1911, Suosaari emigrated to Australia where he settled Bli Bli, Queensland and ran a sugarcane farm. He was also active in a local utopian socialist community founded by the followers of Matti Kurikka.[2]

Suosaari died in Bli Bli at the age of 78 in July 1939. He was buried to the Nambour Old Cemetery.[3]

Basilius Suosaari was married to Anna Brita Nupponen (1869-1958) with 11 children. Their son Axel Suosaari (1908-1934) was a talented swimmer who was the Australian Champion of 100 yards freestyle swimming in 1930-1931. The Finnish Olympic Committee asked him to compete in the 1928 Summer Olympics, but Suosaari refused as he wanted to swim for Australia.[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Vasili Suosaari" (in Finnish). Parliament of Finland. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. ^ Koivukangas, Olavi (2005). "Suomalaiset Australiassa" [The Finns in Australia] (in Finnish). Migration Institute of Finland. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Inscription 15638677 – Basilius Suosaari". Australian Cemeteries Index. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  4. ^ Devlin, Ralph (1 January 2016). "Roaring '20s Heralds Start of Surf Club's Golden Era". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Backward Glance – Bli Bli, a Settlement on the Maroochy River, Part 2". Sunshine Coast Regional Council. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.