V. B. J. Lessina was a journalist and Labor politician. Before moving to Queensland in 1896, he helped John Farrell produce The Lithgow Enterprise and Land Nationaliser. He also wrote for numerous publications including The Worker, The Gosford Times, The Orange Leader, The Gloucester Gazette, The Sydney Weekly News, The Democrat, The Australian Standard, The Evening News, and The Australian Town and Country Journal. From approximately 1896-1899 Lessina served as editor of The Eagle in Charters Towers.
From 1899 to 1912 Lessina served as the Labor representative of the Clermont electorate in the Queensland Parliament. After retiring from Parliament, he moved back to Sydney where he was a member of the Australian Journalists' Association from 1916-1936. During this time he wrote for The Daily Liberal (Dubbo, 1917), The Truth (Sydney, 1924-6 & 1928-9), and edited a Katoomba daily newspaper (1930-1).
Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/adbonline.htm
