fbpx
Wikipedia

George Reid

Sir George Houston Reid GCB GCMG PC KC (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician, diplomat and barrister who served as the fourth prime minister of Australia, from 1904 to 1905, holding office as the leader of the Free Trade Party. He previously served as the 12th premier of New South Wales from 1894 to 1899,[1] and later the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Australia from 1910 to 1916.

Sir George Reid
Reid in 1915
4th Prime Minister of Australia
In office
18 August 1904 – 5 July 1905
MonarchEdward VII
Governor‑GeneralLord Northcote
Preceded byChris Watson
Succeeded byAlfred Deakin
1st Leader of the Opposition
In office
19 May 1901 – 17 August 1904
Prime MinisterEdmund Barton
Alfred Deakin
Chris Watson
Preceded byNew position
Succeeded byChris Watson
In office
7 July 1905 – 16 November 1908
Prime MinisterAlfred Deakin
Andrew Fisher
Preceded byChris Watson
Succeeded byJoseph Cook
12th Premier of New South Wales
In office
3 August 1894 – 13 September 1899
MonarchVictoria
GovernorSir Robert Duff
Lord Hampden
Preceded byGeorge Dibbs
Succeeded byWilliam Lyne
Leader of the Free Trade Party[a]
In office
18 November 1891 – 16 November 1908
DeputyWilliam McMillan
Dugald Thomson
Joseph Cook
Preceded byHenry Parkes
Succeeded byJoseph Cook
Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
In office
1 January 1910 – 1 January 1916
Preceded byNew position
Succeeded byAndrew Fisher
Member of the Australian Parliament
for East Sydney
In office
29 March 1901 – 18 August 1903
Preceded byDivision created
In office
4 September 1903 – 24 December 1909
Succeeded byJohn West
Member of the New South Wales Parliament
for East Sydney
In office
14 December 1880 – 3 August 1884
Preceded byJohn Davies
Succeeded bySydney Burdekin
In office
2 March 1887 – 3 August 1894
Preceded byGeorge Griffiths
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
Member of the New South Wales Parliament
for Sydney-King
In office
3 August 1894 – 30 March 1901
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byErnest Broughton
Member of the House of Commons
for St George's, Hanover Square
In office
11 January 1916 – 12 September 1918
Preceded bySír Alexander Henderson
Succeeded bySir Newton Moore
Personal details
Born(1845-02-25)25 February 1845
Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Died12 September 1918(1918-09-12) (aged 73)
London, England
Resting placePutney Vale Cemetery
51°26′26″N 0°14′21″W / 51.440426°N 0.239237°W / 51.440426; -0.239237
Political partyNone (before 1887)
Free Trade[a] (1887–1909)
Liberal (1909–1910)
Unionist (after 1913)
Spouse
(m. 1891)
RelationsAnne Fairbairn (granddaughter)
Children3
Parents
EducationScotch College
ProfessionCivil servant, barrister, diplomat, politician
Reid in the 1890s

Reid was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland. He and his family immigrated to Australia when he was young. They initially settled in Melbourne, but moved to Sydney when Reid was 13, at which point he left school and began working as a clerk. He later joined the New South Wales civil service, and rose through the ranks to become secretary of the Attorney-General's Department. Reid was also something of a public intellectual, publishing several works in defence of liberalism and free trade. He began studying law in 1876 and was admitted to the bar in 1879. In 1880, he resigned from the civil service to run for parliament, winning election to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.

From 1883 to 1884, Reid was Minister of Public Instruction in the government of Alexander Stuart. He joined the Free Trade Party of Henry Parkes in 1887, but refused to serve in Parkes' governments due to personal enmity. When Parkes resigned as party leader in 1891, Reid was elected in his place. He became premier after the 1894 election and remained in office for just over five years. Despite never winning majority government, Reid was able to pass a number of domestic reforms concerning the civil service and public finances. He was an advocate of federation and played a part in drafting the Constitution of Australia, where he became known as a strong defender of his colony's interests. In 1901, he was elected to the new Federal Parliament representing the Division of East Sydney.

Reid retained the leadership of the Free Trade and Liberal Association after federation, and consequently became Australia's first Leader of the Opposition. For the first few years, the Protectionist Party governed with the support of the Australian Labor Party. Alfred Deakin's Protectionist minority government collapsed in April 1904, and he was briefly succeeded by Labor's Chris Watson, who proved unable to govern and resigned after four months. As a result, Reid became prime minister in August 1904, heading yet another minority government. He included four Protectionists in his cabinet, but was unable to achieve much before his government was brought down in July 1905. One notable exception was the passage of the landmark Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904, which dealt with industrial relations.

At the 1906 election, Reid secured the most votes in the Australian House of Representatives and the equal-most seats, but was well short of a majority and could not form government. He resigned as party leader in 1908, after opposing the formation of the Commonwealth Liberal Party (a merger with the Protectionists). Reid accepted an appointment as Australia's first High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in 1910, and remained in the position until 1916. He subsequently won election to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, serving until his sudden death two years later.

Early life edit

Reid was born on 25 February 1845 in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland. He was the fifth of seven children born to Marion (née Crybbace) and John Reid; he had four older brothers and two younger sisters.[2] He was named after George Houstoun, a former Conservative MP for the Renfrewshire constituency who had died a few years earlier.[3] Reid's father, the son of a farmer, was born in Tarbolton, Ayrshire. At the time of George's birth he was a minister in the Church of Scotland, which he had joined in 1839 after previously ministering in various secessionist Presbyterian churches; he remained loyal to the established church in the Disruption of 1843.[4] In 1834, he had married the daughter of another minister, Edward Crybbace; she was about nine years his junior.[2]

In April 1845, Reid and his family moved to Liverpool, England, where his father had been appointed minister of an expatriate Presbyterian congregation. His two younger sisters were born there. The family struggled financially, and his father made the decision to emigrate to Australia. Reid arrived in Melbourne in May 1852,[2] and his father subsequently led congregations in Essendon and North Melbourne. He moved the family to Sydney in 1858.[5] Reid received his only formal schooling at the Melbourne Academy, now known as Scotch College. He received a classical education, and in later life recalled that he had "no appetite for that wide range of metaphysical propositions which juveniles were expected to comprehend"; he found Greek a "lazy horror".[6] He left school aged about 13, when the family settled in Sydney, and began working as a junior clerk in a merchant's counting house.[7] At the age of 15 he joined the debating society at the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts, and according to his autobiography, "a more crude novice than he had never begun the practise of public speaking".[8] In Sydney, Reid's father became a colleague of John Dunmore Lang at the Scots Church, and then from 1862 until his death in 1867 was the minister of the Mariners' Church on George Street. His mother, who died in 1885, was involved in the ragged schools movement.[5] In later life, Reid praised his parents for his good upbringing.[7]

Public service career edit

In 1864, Reid joined the New South Wales Civil Service as an assistant accountant in the Colonial Treasury, with an annual salary of £200. He was promoted to clerk of correspondence and contracts in 1868, and then chief clerk of correspondence in 1874 on a salary of £400.[7] In 1876 he began to study law seriously, which would provide the independent income necessary to pursue a parliamentary career (given that parliamentary service was unpaid at the time). He became head of the Attorney-General's Department in 1878.[1] In 1879, Reid qualified as a barrister.[6] He made a name for himself by publishing pamphlets on topical issues. In 1875, he published his Five Essays on Free Trade, which brought him an honorary membership of the Cobden Club, and in 1878 the government published his New South Wales, the Mother Colony of the Australians, for distribution in Europe.[8]

Political career edit

Reid's career was aided by his quick wit and entertaining oratory; he was described as being "perhaps the best platform speaker in the Empire",[9] both amusing and informing his audiences "who flocked to his election meetings as to popular entertainment".[10] In one particular incident his quick wit and affinity for humour were demonstrated when a heckler pointed to his ample paunch and exclaimed "What are you going to call it, George?" to which Reid replied: "If it's a boy, I'll call it after myself. If it's a girl I'll call it Victoria. But if, as I strongly suspect, it's nothing but piss and wind, I'll name it after you."[11] His humour, however, was not universally appreciated. Alfred Deakin detested Reid, describing him as "inordinately vain and resolutely selfish"[11] and their cold relationship would affect both their later careers.

Reid was elected top of the poll to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as a member for the four-member electoral district of East Sydney in the 1880 New South Wales colonial election.[12] He was not very active at first, as he was building up his legal practice, although he was concerned to reform the Robertson Land Acts, which had not prevented 96 land holders from controlling eight million acres (32,000 km2) between them. Henry Parkes and John Robertson attempted to make minor amendments to the land acts but were defeated and at the subsequent election Parkes' party lost many seats.

The new premier, Alexander Stuart, offered Reid the position of Colonial Treasurer in January 1883, but he thought it wiser to accept the junior office of Minister of Public Instruction. He served 14 months in this office and succeeded in passing a much improved Education Act, which included the establishment of the first government high schools in the leading towns, technical schools (which became a model for the other colonies)[6] and the provision of evening lectures at the university.[8]

In February 1884, Reid lost his seat in parliament owing to a technicality; The Elections and Qualifications Committee held that the Governor had already issued five proclamations prior to the appointment of Francis Suttor to the office of Minister of Public Instruction thus both Suttor and his successor Reid were incapable of being validly appointed.[13] At the resulting by-election Reid was defeated by a small majority as a result of the government's financial hardships due to the loss of revenue from the suspension of land sales. In 1885 he was re-elected in East Sydney and took a great part in the free trade or protection issue. He supported Sir Henry Parkes on the free trade side but, when Parkes came into power in 1887, declined a seat in his ministry. Parkes offered him a portfolio two years later and Reid again refused. He did not like Parkes personally and felt he would be unable to work with him. When payment of members of parliament was passed, Reid, who had always opposed it, paid the amount of his salary into the treasury.[8] Reid had become one of Sydney's leading barristers by impressing juries by his cross-examinations and was made a Queen's Counsel in 1898.[6] In May 1891 four free traders, Reid, Jack Want, John Haynes and Jonathan Seaver, voted against the Fifth Parkes ministry in a motion of no confidence, which was only defeated by the casting vote of the Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.[14] Whilst the government survived the motion, parliament was dissolved on 6 June 1891.

Premier edit

 
Dame Flora Reid circa 1910

In September 1891, the Parkes ministry was defeated, the Dibbs government succeeded it, and Parkes retired from the leadership of the Free Trade Party. Reid was elected leader of the opposition in his place. In 1891, he married Florence (Flora) Ann Brumby, who was 23 years old to his 46. He managed to form his party into a coherent group although it "ran the whole gamut from conservative Sydney merchants through middle-class intellectuals to reformers who wished to replace indirect by direct taxation for social reasons."[6]

At the 1894 election Reid made the establishment of a real free trade tariff with a system of direct taxation the main item of his policy, and had a great victory. Edmund Barton and other well-known protectionists lost their seats, Labor was reduced from 30 to 18, and Reid formed his first cabinet. One of his earliest measures was a new lands bill which provided for the division of pastoral leases into two-halves, one of which was to be open to the free selector, while the pastoral lessee got some security of tenure for the other half. Classification of crown lands according to their value was provided for, and the free selector, or his transferee, had to reside on the property.[8]

At an early stage of the session, Parkes pressed the question of federation, and in response Reid invited the premiers of the other colonies to meet in conference on 29 January 1895. This resolved in favour of an elected Australasian Federal Convention, that would draw up a federal constitution, which would then to be subject of a referendum in each colony. Meanwhile, Reid had great trouble in passing his land and income tax bills. When he did get them through the Assembly the New South Wales Legislative Council threw them out. Reid obtained a dissolution, was victorious at the polls, and heavily defeated Parkes for the new single-member electoral district of Sydney-King. He eventually succeeded in passing his acts, which were moderate, but was strenuously opposed by the council, and it was only the fear that the chamber might be swamped with new appointments that eventually wore down the opposition. Reid was also successful in bringing in reforms in the keeping of public accounts and in the civil service generally. Other acts dealt with the control of inland waters, and much needed legislation relating to public health, factories, and mining, was also passed.[8] In five years he achieved more than any of his predecessors.[6]

On four occasions between December 1895 and May 1899 Reid was temporarily appointed to the vacant position of Solicitor General for New South Wales to allow him to deputise for the Attorney General of New South Wales, Jack Want, in his absence.[15][16] Reid took on the position of Attorney-General in addition to being Premier in the last months of his government.

Federation edit

 
Reid at the 1898 National Australasian Convention

Reid supported the federation of the Australian colonies, but since the campaign was led by his Protectionist opponent Edmund Barton he did not take a leading role. He was dissatisfied by the draft constitution, especially the power of a Senate, elected on the basis of States rather than population, to reject money bills.

Following the Adelaide session in 1897 of the National Australasian Convention, Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain sent the Colonial Office's extensive and sometimes critical comments on the current draft of the federal constitution to Reid (then in London for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee), for his "private & independent" consideration. At the Sydney and Melbourne sessions of the Convention in 1897 and 1898, Reid moved amendments based on those comments, covertly obtaining several concessions to British wishes. He denied a suggestion that he had been "talking with ‘Joe’". Reid did copy Chamberlain's comments to a select few other delegates, but they never revealed this. They included Edmund Barton, chair of the Drafting Committee, which accommodated some of Chamberlain's more technical points.[17]

In the aftermath of the Convention, Reid made his famous "Yes-No" speech at Sydney Town Hall, on 28 March 1898. He told his audience that he intended to deal with the bill "with the deliberate impartiality of a judge addressing a jury". After speaking for an hour and three-quarters the audience was still uncertain about his verdict. He concluded by declaring "my duty to Australia demands me to record my vote in favour of the bill".[18] Barton congratulated him on stage, but later he and other Federationists were frustrated by Reid saying that, while he felt he could not desert the cause, he would not recommend any course to the electors: "Now, I say to you, having pointed out my mind, and having shown you the dark places as well as the light places of this constitution, I hope every man in this country, without coercion from me, without any interference from me, will judge for himself."[19] He consistently kept this attitude until the poll was taken on 3 June 1898. This earned him the nickname "Yes-No Reid". The referendum in New South Wales resulted in a small majority in favour, but the yes votes fell about 8000 short of the required 80,000.[8] Subsequently, Reid was able to secure greater concessions for New South Wales.

 
"The Yes-No Federationist", The Bulletin 30 July 1898

At the general election held soon after, Barton challenged Reid in the premier's seat of Sydney-King. Reid was re-elected, receiving 761 votes to Barton's 651, but his party came back with a reduced majority.[20] Reid fought for federation at the second referendum and it was carried in New South Wales, with 56.5 percent of valid votes cast for 'Yes'. "A bizarre combination of the Labor Party, protectionists, Federation enthusiasts and die-hard anti-Federation free traders" censured Reid for paying the expenses of John Neild who had been commissioned to report on old-age pensions, prior to parliamentary approval. Governor Beauchamp refused Reid a dissolution of parliament, and Reid was defeated in a no confidence motion, 75 to 41, in September 1899.[6] By this time Reid had grown extremely overweight and sported a walrus moustache and a monocle, but his buffoonish image concealed a shrewd political brain.

Federal politics edit

 
Parliament House portrait of Reid by John Longstaff, 1916
 
George Reid with wife Florence and their children (left to right) Douglas, Thelma and Clive, in London, 1915

Leader of the Opposition (1901–1904) edit

Reid was elected to the first federal Parliament as the Member for the Division of East Sydney at the 1901 Australian federal election. The Free Trade Party won 28 out of 75 seats in the Australian House of Representatives, and 17 out of 36 seats in the Australian Senate. Labor no longer trusted Reid and gave their support to the Edmund Barton Protectionist Party government, so Reid became the first Leader of the Opposition, a position well-suited to his robust debating style and rollicking sense of humour. In the long tariff debate Reid was at a disadvantage as parliament was sitting in Melbourne and he could not entirely neglect his practice as a barrister in Sydney, as his parliamentary income was less than a tenth of his income from his legal practice. In their old stronghold of New South Wales free traders had won 12 seats, but Labor won six, and the old compact between Labor and Reid was a thing of the past.[6][8]

On 18 August 1903, Reid resigned (the first member of the House of Representatives to do so) and challenged the government to oppose his re-election on the issue of its refusal to accept a system of equal electoral districts.[6] On 4 September he successfully contested the 1903 East Sydney by-election against a Labor opponent.[21] He was the only person in Australian federal parliamentary history to win back his seat at a by-election triggered by his own resignation, until John Alexander in 2017.

Alfred Deakin took over from Barton as Prime Minister and leader of the Protectionists. At the 1903 election, the Free Trade Party won 24 seats, with the Labor vote increasing mainly at the expense of the Protectionists.

Prime Minister (1904–1905) edit

In August 1904, when the Watson government resigned, Reid became Prime Minister. He was the first former state premier to become Prime Minister (the only other to date being Joseph Lyons). Reid did not have a majority in either House, and he knew it would be only a matter of time before the Protectionists patched up their differences with Labor, so he enjoyed himself in office while he could. In July 1905 the other two parties duly voted him out, and he left office with good grace.

Leader of the Opposition (1905–1908) edit

Reid adopted a strategy of trying to reorient the party system along Labor vs. non-Labor lines – prior to the 1906 election, he renamed his Free Trade Party to the Anti-Socialist Party. Reid envisaged a spectrum running from socialist to anti-socialist, with the Protectionist Party in the middle. This attempt struck a chord with politicians who were steeped in the Westminster tradition and regarded a two-party system as very much the norm.[22] Zachary Gorman has argued that this attempt to impose clear 'lines of cleavage' in Federal politics was inspired by Reid's friend Joseph Carruthers who had achieved a political realignment in New South Wales that destroyed the Progressive middle party and created a Liberal-Labor divide.[23] For Reid, anti-socialism was a natural product of his long-standing belief in Gladstonian liberalism.[24]

Reid referred to Labor publicly using a damaging visual negative image of Labor as a hungry socialist tiger that would devour all.[25] The anti-socialist campaign led to the Protectionist vote and seat count dropping significantly at the 1906 election, while both Reid's party and Labor won 26 seats each. The Deakin government continued with Labor support for the time being, despite only holding 16 seats after losing 10, although with another 5 independent Protectionists. Reid's anti-socialist campaign had nevertheless laid the groundwork for the desired realignment, and liberalism would come to sit on the centre-right of Australian politics.[24]

In 1907–1908, Reid strenuously resisted Deakin's commitment to increase tariff rates. When Deakin proposed the Commonwealth Liberal Party, a "Fusion" of the two non-Labor parties, Reid resigned as party leader on 16 November 1908. The following day, Joseph Cook was made leader until the parties merged.[26]

On 24 December 1909 Reid resigned from Parliament (he was the first Member to have resigned twice), however his seat was left vacant until the 1910 election. His seat of East Sydney was won by Labor's John West, in an election which saw Labor win 42 of 75 seats, against the CLP on 31 seats. Labor also won a majority in the Senate.

Later life and legacy edit

 
Reid c. 1915
 
Reid's grave at Putney Vale Cemetery in London, in 2015

In 1910, Reid was appointed as Australia's first High Commissioner in London.[6]

Reid was extremely popular in Britain, and in 1916, when his term as High Commissioner ended, he was elected unopposed to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom for the seat of St George, Hanover Square as a Unionist candidate, where he acted as a spokesman for the self-governing Dominions in supporting the war effort. He died suddenly in London on 12 September 1918,[27][28] aged 73, of cerebral thrombosis, survived by his wife and their two sons and daughter.[6] His wife had become Dame Flora Reid GBE in 1917. He is buried in Putney Vale Cemetery.

Reid's posthumous reputation suffered from the general acceptance of protectionist policies by other parties, as well as from his buffoonish public image. In 1989 W. G. McMinn published George Reid, a serious biography designed to rescue Reid from his reputation as a clownish reactionary and attempt to show his Free Trade policies as having been vindicated by history.[9]

Honours edit

 
Bust of George Reid by sculptor Wallace Anderson located in the Prime Ministers Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens

In 1897 Reid was made an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) by Oxford University. Reid was also appointed a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (1904), a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (1911) and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (1916).[6]

One of the oldest suburbs within Canberra, the suburb of Reid, was named after George Reid.

The federal electoral Division of Reid, created in 1922, in Western Sydney bears his name.

In 1969 he was honoured on a postage stamp bearing his portrait issued by Australia Post.[29]

Works edit

  • The Australian Commonwealth and her relation to the British Empire (address, 1912)

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Known as the "Anti-Socialist Party" after 1906

References edit

  1. ^ a b "George Reid". Prime Ministers. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  2. ^ a b c McMinn (1989), p. 3.
  3. ^ Prentis, Malcolm D (1993). "Scottish Seceder in the Australian Colonies: The Eccentric Pilgrimage of John Reid". The Journal of Religious History. 17 (3): 343. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9809.1993.tb00726.x.
  4. ^ Prentis (1993), pp. 340–342.
  5. ^ a b McMinn (1989), p. 4.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l McMinn, W G. "Reid, Sir George Houstoun (1845–1918)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  7. ^ a b c McMinn (1989), p. 5.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Serle, Percival (1949). "Reid, Sir George Houstoun (1845–1918)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  9. ^ a b McMinn, W. G. (1989). George Reid. Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0-522-84373-5.
  10. ^ Abjorensen, Norman. George Reid, The Democrat as Equivocator: Piss and Wind, or Principles in Search of a Constituency?.
  11. ^ a b Grattan, Michelle (2000). Australian Prime Ministers. New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-86436-756-3.
  12. ^ "Sir George Houston Reid (1845–1918)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Report of Committee of elections and qualifications". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). NSW: Legislative Assembly. 16 January 1884. p. 1280. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Legislative Assembly: The want of confidence motion". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 May 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2021 – via Trove.
  15. ^ Appleby, G (2016). Role of the Solicitor-General. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 73. ISBN 9781509903962.
  16. ^ Mason, K, The Office of Solicitor General for New South Wales (PDF) (1988 Autumn) Bar News: Journal of the NSW Bar Association 22.
  17. ^ Williams, John M. (2005). The Australian Constitution: a Documentary History. Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Press. pp. 711–761. ISBN 0-522-85042-1.
  18. ^ William Coleman,Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914, Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p, 202.
  19. ^ Williams (2005), p. 1142.
  20. ^ "NSW Elections - 1898 Results". Parliament of NSW. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  21. ^ "House of Representatives by-elections 1901–2008" (PDF). Parliament of Australia. p. 18. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  22. ^ Fusion: The Party System We Had To Have? – by Charles Richardson CIS 25 January 2009
  23. ^ Gorman, Zachary (2018). Sir Joseph Carruthers: Founder of the New South Wales Liberal Party. Connor Court. pp. 271–282. ISBN 9781925501766.
  24. ^ a b Gorman, Zachary (2015). 'George Reid's anti-socialist campaign in the history of Australian liberalism' in Melleuish Liberalism and Conservatism. Connor Court. pp. 17–38. ISBN 9781925138597.
  25. ^ Julian Fitzgerald On Message: Political Communications of Australian Prime Ministers 1901–2014 Clareville Press 2014, p 64
  26. ^ . Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  27. ^ "Sir George Reid's Death". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 September 1918. p. 8. Retrieved 31 October 2014 – via Trove.
  28. ^ "Fast facts: George Reid". Australia's Prime Ministers. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  29. ^ Stamp

Further reading edit

  • Hughes, Colin A. (1976). Mr Prime Minister. Australian Prime Ministers 1901–1972. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195504712.

External links edit

  • Archival records and sources held at the National Archives of Australia
  • Audio lecture on the life of George Reid – National Museum of Australia
  • Undated photo of George Reid and Mrs. Oliver T. Johnston from Library of Congress collection

 

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for East Sydney
1880–1884
Served alongside: Renwick, Barton, Dangar, McElhone, Copeland, Parkes, Griffiths
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member for East Sydney
1885–1894
Served alongside: Burdekin, Barton, McMillan, Copeland, Bradley, Street, Parkes,
Succeeded by
District abolished
New district Member for Sydney-King
1894–1901
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Public Instruction
1883–1884
Succeeded by
Preceded by Premier of New South Wales
1894–1899
Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney General of New South Wales
1899
Succeeded by
Parliament of Australia
New division Member for East Sydney
1901–1910
Succeeded by
Political offices
New title Leader of the Opposition of Australia
1901–1904
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Australia
1904–1905
Leader of the Opposition of Australia
1905–1908
Succeeded by
Party political offices
New political party Leader of the Free Trade Party
1901–1906
Renamed the Anti-Socialist Party
Leader of the Anti-Socialist Party
1906–1908
Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
New title Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
1910–1916
Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member for St George, Hanover Square
19161918
Succeeded by

george, reid, other, people, named, disambiguation, george, houston, reid, gcmg, february, 1845, september, 1918, australian, politician, diplomat, barrister, served, fourth, prime, minister, australia, from, 1904, 1905, holding, office, leader, free, trade, p. For other people named George Reid see George Reid disambiguation Sir George Houston Reid GCB GCMG PC KC 25 February 1845 12 September 1918 was an Australian politician diplomat and barrister who served as the fourth prime minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905 holding office as the leader of the Free Trade Party He previously served as the 12th premier of New South Wales from 1894 to 1899 1 and later the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Australia from 1910 to 1916 The Right HonourableSir George ReidGCB GCMG KCReid in 19154th Prime Minister of AustraliaIn office 18 August 1904 5 July 1905MonarchEdward VIIGovernor GeneralLord NorthcotePreceded byChris WatsonSucceeded byAlfred Deakin1st Leader of the OppositionIn office 19 May 1901 17 August 1904Prime MinisterEdmund BartonAlfred DeakinChris WatsonPreceded byNew positionSucceeded byChris WatsonIn office 7 July 1905 16 November 1908Prime MinisterAlfred DeakinAndrew FisherPreceded byChris WatsonSucceeded byJoseph Cook12th Premier of New South WalesIn office 3 August 1894 13 September 1899MonarchVictoriaGovernorSir Robert DuffLord HampdenPreceded byGeorge DibbsSucceeded byWilliam LyneLeader of the Free Trade Party a In office 18 November 1891 16 November 1908DeputyWilliam McMillanDugald ThomsonJoseph CookPreceded byHenry ParkesSucceeded byJoseph CookAustralian High Commissioner to the United KingdomIn office 1 January 1910 1 January 1916Preceded byNew positionSucceeded byAndrew FisherMember of the Australian Parliament for East SydneyIn office 29 March 1901 18 August 1903Preceded byDivision createdIn office 4 September 1903 24 December 1909Succeeded byJohn WestMember of the New South Wales Parliament for East SydneyIn office 14 December 1880 3 August 1884Preceded byJohn DaviesSucceeded bySydney BurdekinIn office 2 March 1887 3 August 1894Preceded byGeorge GriffithsSucceeded byDistrict abolishedMember of the New South Wales Parliament for Sydney KingIn office 3 August 1894 30 March 1901Preceded byConstituency createdSucceeded byErnest BroughtonMember of the House of Commons for St George s Hanover SquareIn office 11 January 1916 12 September 1918Preceded bySir Alexander HendersonSucceeded bySir Newton MoorePersonal detailsBorn 1845 02 25 25 February 1845Johnstone Renfrewshire ScotlandDied12 September 1918 1918 09 12 aged 73 London EnglandResting placePutney Vale Cemetery51 26 26 N 0 14 21 W 51 440426 N 0 239237 W 51 440426 0 239237Political partyNone before 1887 Free Trade a 1887 1909 Liberal 1909 1910 Unionist after 1913 SpouseFlorence Brumby m 1891 wbr RelationsAnne Fairbairn granddaughter Children3ParentsRev John Reid Marion Reid nee Crybbace EducationScotch CollegeProfessionCivil servant barrister diplomat politicianReid in the 1890sReid was born in Johnstone Renfrewshire Scotland He and his family immigrated to Australia when he was young They initially settled in Melbourne but moved to Sydney when Reid was 13 at which point he left school and began working as a clerk He later joined the New South Wales civil service and rose through the ranks to become secretary of the Attorney General s Department Reid was also something of a public intellectual publishing several works in defence of liberalism and free trade He began studying law in 1876 and was admitted to the bar in 1879 In 1880 he resigned from the civil service to run for parliament winning election to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly From 1883 to 1884 Reid was Minister of Public Instruction in the government of Alexander Stuart He joined the Free Trade Party of Henry Parkes in 1887 but refused to serve in Parkes governments due to personal enmity When Parkes resigned as party leader in 1891 Reid was elected in his place He became premier after the 1894 election and remained in office for just over five years Despite never winning majority government Reid was able to pass a number of domestic reforms concerning the civil service and public finances He was an advocate of federation and played a part in drafting the Constitution of Australia where he became known as a strong defender of his colony s interests In 1901 he was elected to the new Federal Parliament representing the Division of East Sydney Reid retained the leadership of the Free Trade and Liberal Association after federation and consequently became Australia s first Leader of the Opposition For the first few years the Protectionist Party governed with the support of the Australian Labor Party Alfred Deakin s Protectionist minority government collapsed in April 1904 and he was briefly succeeded by Labor s Chris Watson who proved unable to govern and resigned after four months As a result Reid became prime minister in August 1904 heading yet another minority government He included four Protectionists in his cabinet but was unable to achieve much before his government was brought down in July 1905 One notable exception was the passage of the landmark Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 which dealt with industrial relations At the 1906 election Reid secured the most votes in the Australian House of Representatives and the equal most seats but was well short of a majority and could not form government He resigned as party leader in 1908 after opposing the formation of the Commonwealth Liberal Party a merger with the Protectionists Reid accepted an appointment as Australia s first High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in 1910 and remained in the position until 1916 He subsequently won election to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom serving until his sudden death two years later Contents 1 Early life 2 Public service career 3 Political career 4 Premier 5 Federation 6 Federal politics 6 1 Leader of the Opposition 1901 1904 6 2 Prime Minister 1904 1905 6 3 Leader of the Opposition 1905 1908 7 Later life and legacy 8 Honours 9 Works 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External linksEarly life editReid was born on 25 February 1845 in Johnstone Renfrewshire Scotland He was the fifth of seven children born to Marion nee Crybbace and John Reid he had four older brothers and two younger sisters 2 He was named after George Houstoun a former Conservative MP for the Renfrewshire constituency who had died a few years earlier 3 Reid s father the son of a farmer was born in Tarbolton Ayrshire At the time of George s birth he was a minister in the Church of Scotland which he had joined in 1839 after previously ministering in various secessionist Presbyterian churches he remained loyal to the established church in the Disruption of 1843 4 In 1834 he had married the daughter of another minister Edward Crybbace she was about nine years his junior 2 In April 1845 Reid and his family moved to Liverpool England where his father had been appointed minister of an expatriate Presbyterian congregation His two younger sisters were born there The family struggled financially and his father made the decision to emigrate to Australia Reid arrived in Melbourne in May 1852 2 and his father subsequently led congregations in Essendon and North Melbourne He moved the family to Sydney in 1858 5 Reid received his only formal schooling at the Melbourne Academy now known as Scotch College He received a classical education and in later life recalled that he had no appetite for that wide range of metaphysical propositions which juveniles were expected to comprehend he found Greek a lazy horror 6 He left school aged about 13 when the family settled in Sydney and began working as a junior clerk in a merchant s counting house 7 At the age of 15 he joined the debating society at the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts and according to his autobiography a more crude novice than he had never begun the practise of public speaking 8 In Sydney Reid s father became a colleague of John Dunmore Lang at the Scots Church and then from 1862 until his death in 1867 was the minister of the Mariners Church on George Street His mother who died in 1885 was involved in the ragged schools movement 5 In later life Reid praised his parents for his good upbringing 7 Public service career editIn 1864 Reid joined the New South Wales Civil Service as an assistant accountant in the Colonial Treasury with an annual salary of 200 He was promoted to clerk of correspondence and contracts in 1868 and then chief clerk of correspondence in 1874 on a salary of 400 7 In 1876 he began to study law seriously which would provide the independent income necessary to pursue a parliamentary career given that parliamentary service was unpaid at the time He became head of the Attorney General s Department in 1878 1 In 1879 Reid qualified as a barrister 6 He made a name for himself by publishing pamphlets on topical issues In 1875 he published his Five Essays on Free Trade which brought him an honorary membership of the Cobden Club and in 1878 the government published his New South Wales the Mother Colony of the Australians for distribution in Europe 8 Political career editReid s career was aided by his quick wit and entertaining oratory he was described as being perhaps the best platform speaker in the Empire 9 both amusing and informing his audiences who flocked to his election meetings as to popular entertainment 10 In one particular incident his quick wit and affinity for humour were demonstrated when a heckler pointed to his ample paunch and exclaimed What are you going to call it George to which Reid replied If it s a boy I ll call it after myself If it s a girl I ll call it Victoria But if as I strongly suspect it s nothing but piss and wind I ll name it after you 11 His humour however was not universally appreciated Alfred Deakin detested Reid describing him as inordinately vain and resolutely selfish 11 and their cold relationship would affect both their later careers Reid was elected top of the poll to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as a member for the four member electoral district of East Sydney in the 1880 New South Wales colonial election 12 He was not very active at first as he was building up his legal practice although he was concerned to reform the Robertson Land Acts which had not prevented 96 land holders from controlling eight million acres 32 000 km2 between them Henry Parkes and John Robertson attempted to make minor amendments to the land acts but were defeated and at the subsequent election Parkes party lost many seats The new premier Alexander Stuart offered Reid the position of Colonial Treasurer in January 1883 but he thought it wiser to accept the junior office of Minister of Public Instruction He served 14 months in this office and succeeded in passing a much improved Education Act which included the establishment of the first government high schools in the leading towns technical schools which became a model for the other colonies 6 and the provision of evening lectures at the university 8 In February 1884 Reid lost his seat in parliament owing to a technicality The Elections and Qualifications Committee held that the Governor had already issued five proclamations prior to the appointment of Francis Suttor to the office of Minister of Public Instruction thus both Suttor and his successor Reid were incapable of being validly appointed 13 At the resulting by election Reid was defeated by a small majority as a result of the government s financial hardships due to the loss of revenue from the suspension of land sales In 1885 he was re elected in East Sydney and took a great part in the free trade or protection issue He supported Sir Henry Parkes on the free trade side but when Parkes came into power in 1887 declined a seat in his ministry Parkes offered him a portfolio two years later and Reid again refused He did not like Parkes personally and felt he would be unable to work with him When payment of members of parliament was passed Reid who had always opposed it paid the amount of his salary into the treasury 8 Reid had become one of Sydney s leading barristers by impressing juries by his cross examinations and was made a Queen s Counsel in 1898 6 In May 1891 four free traders Reid Jack Want John Haynes and Jonathan Seaver voted against the Fifth Parkes ministry in a motion of no confidence which was only defeated by the casting vote of the Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 14 Whilst the government survived the motion parliament was dissolved on 6 June 1891 Premier edit nbsp Dame Flora Reid circa 1910In September 1891 the Parkes ministry was defeated the Dibbs government succeeded it and Parkes retired from the leadership of the Free Trade Party Reid was elected leader of the opposition in his place In 1891 he married Florence Flora Ann Brumby who was 23 years old to his 46 He managed to form his party into a coherent group although it ran the whole gamut from conservative Sydney merchants through middle class intellectuals to reformers who wished to replace indirect by direct taxation for social reasons 6 At the 1894 election Reid made the establishment of a real free trade tariff with a system of direct taxation the main item of his policy and had a great victory Edmund Barton and other well known protectionists lost their seats Labor was reduced from 30 to 18 and Reid formed his first cabinet One of his earliest measures was a new lands bill which provided for the division of pastoral leases into two halves one of which was to be open to the free selector while the pastoral lessee got some security of tenure for the other half Classification of crown lands according to their value was provided for and the free selector or his transferee had to reside on the property 8 At an early stage of the session Parkes pressed the question of federation and in response Reid invited the premiers of the other colonies to meet in conference on 29 January 1895 This resolved in favour of an elected Australasian Federal Convention that would draw up a federal constitution which would then to be subject of a referendum in each colony Meanwhile Reid had great trouble in passing his land and income tax bills When he did get them through the Assembly the New South Wales Legislative Council threw them out Reid obtained a dissolution was victorious at the polls and heavily defeated Parkes for the new single member electoral district of Sydney King He eventually succeeded in passing his acts which were moderate but was strenuously opposed by the council and it was only the fear that the chamber might be swamped with new appointments that eventually wore down the opposition Reid was also successful in bringing in reforms in the keeping of public accounts and in the civil service generally Other acts dealt with the control of inland waters and much needed legislation relating to public health factories and mining was also passed 8 In five years he achieved more than any of his predecessors 6 On four occasions between December 1895 and May 1899 Reid was temporarily appointed to the vacant position of Solicitor General for New South Wales to allow him to deputise for the Attorney General of New South Wales Jack Want in his absence 15 16 Reid took on the position of Attorney General in addition to being Premier in the last months of his government Federation edit nbsp Reid at the 1898 National Australasian ConventionReid supported the federation of the Australian colonies but since the campaign was led by his Protectionist opponent Edmund Barton he did not take a leading role He was dissatisfied by the draft constitution especially the power of a Senate elected on the basis of States rather than population to reject money bills Following the Adelaide session in 1897 of the National Australasian Convention Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain sent the Colonial Office s extensive and sometimes critical comments on the current draft of the federal constitution to Reid then in London for Queen Victoria s Diamond Jubilee for his private amp independent consideration At the Sydney and Melbourne sessions of the Convention in 1897 and 1898 Reid moved amendments based on those comments covertly obtaining several concessions to British wishes He denied a suggestion that he had been talking with Joe Reid did copy Chamberlain s comments to a select few other delegates but they never revealed this They included Edmund Barton chair of the Drafting Committee which accommodated some of Chamberlain s more technical points 17 In the aftermath of the Convention Reid made his famous Yes No speech at Sydney Town Hall on 28 March 1898 He told his audience that he intended to deal with the bill with the deliberate impartiality of a judge addressing a jury After speaking for an hour and three quarters the audience was still uncertain about his verdict He concluded by declaring my duty to Australia demands me to record my vote in favour of the bill 18 Barton congratulated him on stage but later he and other Federationists were frustrated by Reid saying that while he felt he could not desert the cause he would not recommend any course to the electors Now I say to you having pointed out my mind and having shown you the dark places as well as the light places of this constitution I hope every man in this country without coercion from me without any interference from me will judge for himself 19 He consistently kept this attitude until the poll was taken on 3 June 1898 This earned him the nickname Yes No Reid The referendum in New South Wales resulted in a small majority in favour but the yes votes fell about 8000 short of the required 80 000 8 Subsequently Reid was able to secure greater concessions for New South Wales nbsp The Yes No Federationist The Bulletin 30 July 1898At the general election held soon after Barton challenged Reid in the premier s seat of Sydney King Reid was re elected receiving 761 votes to Barton s 651 but his party came back with a reduced majority 20 Reid fought for federation at the second referendum and it was carried in New South Wales with 56 5 percent of valid votes cast for Yes A bizarre combination of the Labor Party protectionists Federation enthusiasts and die hard anti Federation free traders censured Reid for paying the expenses of John Neild who had been commissioned to report on old age pensions prior to parliamentary approval Governor Beauchamp refused Reid a dissolution of parliament and Reid was defeated in a no confidence motion 75 to 41 in September 1899 6 By this time Reid had grown extremely overweight and sported a walrus moustache and a monocle but his buffoonish image concealed a shrewd political brain Federal politics edit nbsp Parliament House portrait of Reid by John Longstaff 1916 nbsp George Reid with wife Florence and their children left to right Douglas Thelma and Clive in London 1915Leader of the Opposition 1901 1904 edit Reid was elected to the first federal Parliament as the Member for the Division of East Sydney at the 1901 Australian federal election The Free Trade Party won 28 out of 75 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 17 out of 36 seats in the Australian Senate Labor no longer trusted Reid and gave their support to the Edmund Barton Protectionist Party government so Reid became the first Leader of the Opposition a position well suited to his robust debating style and rollicking sense of humour In the long tariff debate Reid was at a disadvantage as parliament was sitting in Melbourne and he could not entirely neglect his practice as a barrister in Sydney as his parliamentary income was less than a tenth of his income from his legal practice In their old stronghold of New South Wales free traders had won 12 seats but Labor won six and the old compact between Labor and Reid was a thing of the past 6 8 On 18 August 1903 Reid resigned the first member of the House of Representatives to do so and challenged the government to oppose his re election on the issue of its refusal to accept a system of equal electoral districts 6 On 4 September he successfully contested the 1903 East Sydney by election against a Labor opponent 21 He was the only person in Australian federal parliamentary history to win back his seat at a by election triggered by his own resignation until John Alexander in 2017 Alfred Deakin took over from Barton as Prime Minister and leader of the Protectionists At the 1903 election the Free Trade Party won 24 seats with the Labor vote increasing mainly at the expense of the Protectionists Prime Minister 1904 1905 edit This section has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it September 2022 This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message In August 1904 when the Watson government resigned Reid became Prime Minister He was the first former state premier to become Prime Minister the only other to date being Joseph Lyons Reid did not have a majority in either House and he knew it would be only a matter of time before the Protectionists patched up their differences with Labor so he enjoyed himself in office while he could In July 1905 the other two parties duly voted him out and he left office with good grace Leader of the Opposition 1905 1908 edit Reid adopted a strategy of trying to reorient the party system along Labor vs non Labor lines prior to the 1906 election he renamed his Free Trade Party to the Anti Socialist Party Reid envisaged a spectrum running from socialist to anti socialist with the Protectionist Party in the middle This attempt struck a chord with politicians who were steeped in the Westminster tradition and regarded a two party system as very much the norm 22 Zachary Gorman has argued that this attempt to impose clear lines of cleavage in Federal politics was inspired by Reid s friend Joseph Carruthers who had achieved a political realignment in New South Wales that destroyed the Progressive middle party and created a Liberal Labor divide 23 For Reid anti socialism was a natural product of his long standing belief in Gladstonian liberalism 24 Reid referred to Labor publicly using a damaging visual negative image of Labor as a hungry socialist tiger that would devour all 25 The anti socialist campaign led to the Protectionist vote and seat count dropping significantly at the 1906 election while both Reid s party and Labor won 26 seats each The Deakin government continued with Labor support for the time being despite only holding 16 seats after losing 10 although with another 5 independent Protectionists Reid s anti socialist campaign had nevertheless laid the groundwork for the desired realignment and liberalism would come to sit on the centre right of Australian politics 24 In 1907 1908 Reid strenuously resisted Deakin s commitment to increase tariff rates When Deakin proposed the Commonwealth Liberal Party a Fusion of the two non Labor parties Reid resigned as party leader on 16 November 1908 The following day Joseph Cook was made leader until the parties merged 26 On 24 December 1909 Reid resigned from Parliament he was the first Member to have resigned twice however his seat was left vacant until the 1910 election His seat of East Sydney was won by Labor s John West in an election which saw Labor win 42 of 75 seats against the CLP on 31 seats Labor also won a majority in the Senate Later life and legacy edit nbsp Reid c 1915 nbsp Reid s grave at Putney Vale Cemetery in London in 2015In 1910 Reid was appointed as Australia s first High Commissioner in London 6 Reid was extremely popular in Britain and in 1916 when his term as High Commissioner ended he was elected unopposed to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom for the seat of St George Hanover Square as a Unionist candidate where he acted as a spokesman for the self governing Dominions in supporting the war effort He died suddenly in London on 12 September 1918 27 28 aged 73 of cerebral thrombosis survived by his wife and their two sons and daughter 6 His wife had become Dame Flora Reid GBE in 1917 He is buried in Putney Vale Cemetery Reid s posthumous reputation suffered from the general acceptance of protectionist policies by other parties as well as from his buffoonish public image In 1989 W G McMinn published George Reid a serious biography designed to rescue Reid from his reputation as a clownish reactionary and attempt to show his Free Trade policies as having been vindicated by history 9 Honours edit nbsp Bust of George Reid by sculptor Wallace Anderson located in the Prime Ministers Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical GardensIn 1897 Reid was made an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law DCL by Oxford University Reid was also appointed a member of Her Majesty s Most Honourable Privy Council 1904 a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George 1911 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath 1916 6 One of the oldest suburbs within Canberra the suburb of Reid was named after George Reid The federal electoral Division of Reid created in 1922 in Western Sydney bears his name In 1969 he was honoured on a postage stamp bearing his portrait issued by Australia Post 29 Works editThe Australian Commonwealth and her relation to the British Empire address 1912 See also edit nbsp Biography portal nbsp Politics portalReid MinistryNotes edit a b Known as the Anti Socialist Party after 1906References edit a b George Reid Prime Ministers National Archives of Australia Retrieved 4 May 2007 a b c McMinn 1989 p 3 Prentis Malcolm D 1993 Scottish Seceder in the Australian Colonies The Eccentric Pilgrimage of John Reid The Journal of Religious History 17 3 343 doi 10 1111 j 1467 9809 1993 tb00726 x Prentis 1993 pp 340 342 a b McMinn 1989 p 4 a b c d e f g h i j k l McMinn W G Reid Sir George Houstoun 1845 1918 Australian Dictionary of Biography National Centre of Biography Australian National University ISSN 1833 7538 Retrieved 4 March 2020 a b c McMinn 1989 p 5 a b c d e f g h Serle Percival 1949 Reid Sir George Houstoun 1845 1918 Dictionary of Australian Biography Sydney Angus amp Robertson Retrieved 4 March 2020 a b McMinn W G 1989 George Reid Carlton Vic Melbourne University Press ISBN 0 522 84373 5 Abjorensen Norman George Reid The Democrat as Equivocator Piss and Wind or Principles in Search of a Constituency a b Grattan Michelle 2000 Australian Prime Ministers New Holland Publishers Australia Pty Ltd ISBN 1 86436 756 3 Sir George Houston Reid 1845 1918 Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales Retrieved 23 May 2019 Report of Committee of elections and qualifications Parliamentary Debates Hansard NSW Legislative Assembly 16 January 1884 p 1280 Retrieved 25 September 2019 Legislative Assembly The want of confidence motion The Sydney Morning Herald 29 May 1891 p 3 Retrieved 3 June 2021 via Trove Appleby G 2016 Role of the Solicitor General Bloomsbury Publishing p 73 ISBN 9781509903962 Mason K The Office of Solicitor General for New South Wales PDF 1988 Autumn Bar News Journal of the NSW Bar Association 22 Williams John M 2005 The Australian Constitution a Documentary History Carlton Vic Melbourne University Press pp 711 761 ISBN 0 522 85042 1 William Coleman Their Fiery Cross of Union A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation 1889 1914 Connor Court Queensland 2021 p 202 Williams 2005 p 1142 NSW Elections 1898 Results Parliament of NSW Retrieved 22 February 2024 House of Representatives by elections 1901 2008 PDF Parliament of Australia p 18 Retrieved 8 February 2010 Fusion The Party System We Had To Have by Charles Richardson CIS 25 January 2009 Gorman Zachary 2018 Sir Joseph Carruthers Founder of the New South Wales Liberal Party Connor Court pp 271 282 ISBN 9781925501766 a b Gorman Zachary 2015 George Reid s anti socialist campaign in the history of Australian liberalism in Melleuish Liberalism and Conservatism Connor Court pp 17 38 ISBN 9781925138597 Julian Fitzgerald On Message Political Communications of Australian Prime Ministers 1901 2014 Clareville Press 2014 p 64 Leader of the Opposition Parliamentary Education Office Archived from the original on 6 May 2019 Retrieved 31 March 2016 Sir George Reid s Death The Sydney Morning Herald 17 September 1918 p 8 Retrieved 31 October 2014 via Trove Fast facts George Reid Australia s Prime Ministers National Archives of Australia Retrieved 31 October 2014 StampFurther reading editHughes Colin A 1976 Mr Prime Minister Australian Prime Ministers 1901 1972 Melbourne Oxford University Press ISBN 0195504712 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Houstoun Reid nbsp Wikisource has the text of a 1922 Encyclopaedia Britannica article about George Reid Archival records and sources held at the National Archives of Australia Audio lecture on the life of George Reid National Museum of Australia Undated photo of George Reid and Mrs Oliver T Johnston from Library of Congress collection New South Wales Legislative AssemblyPreceded byJohn Davies Member for East Sydney1880 1884 Served alongside Renwick Barton Dangar McElhone Copeland Parkes Griffiths Succeeded bySydney BurdekinPreceded byGeorge Griffiths Member for East Sydney1885 1894 Served alongside Burdekin Barton McMillan Copeland Bradley Street Parkes Succeeded byDistrict abolishedNew district Member for Sydney King1894 1901 Succeeded byErnest BroughtonPolitical officesPreceded byFrancis Suttor Minister of Public Instruction1883 1884 Succeeded byWilliam TrickettPreceded byGeorge Dibbs Premier of New South Wales1894 1899 Succeeded byWilliam LynePreceded byJack Want Attorney General of New South Wales1899 Succeeded byBernhard WiseParliament of AustraliaNew division Member for East Sydney1901 1910 Succeeded byJohn WestPolitical officesNew title Leader of the Opposition of Australia1901 1904 Succeeded byAlfred DeakinPreceded byChris Watson Prime Minister of Australia1904 1905Leader of the Opposition of Australia1905 1908 Succeeded byJoseph CookParty political officesNew political party Leader of the Free Trade Party1901 1906 Renamed the Anti Socialist PartyLeader of the Anti Socialist Party1906 1908 Succeeded byJoseph CookDiplomatic postsNew title Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom1910 1916 Succeeded byAndrew FisherParliament of the United KingdomPreceded bySir Alexander Henderson Member for St George Hanover Square1916 1918 Succeeded bySir Newton Moore Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Reid amp oldid 1214634752, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.