User:Beneaththelandslide/drafts/Thomas Playford IV

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Sir Thomas Playford KCMG (July 5, 1896 – 16 June 1981) served as Premier of South Australia from November 5, 1938 to March 10, 1965, which at 26 years and 125 days, remains a British Commonwealth record for the longest time someone has served as a democratically elected national or regional leader. His tenure as Premier was marked by a period of unprecedented population and economic growth that was not matched by any other Australian states. Playford took a unique, strong and hands-on approach to the Premiership and personally oversaw his industrial iniatives. His string of election wins were assisted by a system of malapportionment that bore his name.

Born into an old political family, Playford was the fifth Thomas Playford and the fourth to have lived in South Australia. His great-grandfather, Thomas Playford I, had emigrated in 1944 and started a new non-denominational Church; his grandfather had twice been Premier of South Australia, a member of the Australian Senate and the Federal Minister for Defence; and his father had a short stint on the East Torrens District Council.

Playford was born in 1896 at the family home in Norton Summit, a small town in the hills overlooking Adelaide. He left school at 15 to assist his father on the farm and then volunteered for the Army and served at Gallipoli in World War I. He was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly in 1932 as a member of the Liberal and Country League and with the resignation of Richard Layton Butler in 1938 he became Premier. When his government was finally defeated in the 1965 election he relinquished the LCL leadership to Steele Hall and retired at the next election. He served on various South Australian boards until his death in 1981.

[edit] Family

See also: Playford family

The Playford family heritage can only be traced back so far as 1759, when a baby boy was left at the door of a house in Barnby Dun, Yorkshire, England, with a note to christen the child 'Thomas Playford'. The occupants of the house, who were to raise the child, were given instructions to receive money from a bank account for the deed.^[1] The child grew up to be a simple farmer in the village. The son of this first Playford was born in 1795, and was also christened, simply, 'Thomas Playford'. The tradition of naming the first born son in the family in this way has continued since.

Thomas Playford I, soldier and pastor. He was the second Thomas Playford and the first to have lived in South Australia.

The second Playford was to become something of a loner, but at the age of 15 he developed a relationship with a girl five years his senior and the outcome was a baby. In order to avoid the social stigma of the situation, and on the advice of his parents, Playford enlisted in the British Army in 1810. While three years under the acceptable age, Playford's size (6" 2") enabled him to pass off as eighteen.^[2] He spent 24 years in the service of the Light Guards, fighting all over the European continent in Portugal, Spain and France. He fought in the Battle of Waterloo at the age of 20.

While a soldier, Playford became a devout Christian, rejected the idea of atheism, and journeyed and listened to many different churches and sermons. However, he was sceptical of many pastors and church men, dismissing their "high sounding barren words".^[3] He left the Life Guards in 1834, received a land grant in Canada for his service, and journeyed there with his wife and family. His wife and a child died in the country, so he and his remaining kin returned to England. He worked as a historian for the Life Guards until 1844 when he migrated to the then-colony of South Australia. Playford became a pastor there, built a property at Mitcham, and preached regularly for his own 'Christian Church', which was essentially Baptist in character.^[4]

Thomas Playford II, premier and senator.

The third Playford, Thomas Playford II, was born at Bethnal Green, London in 1837 to the second wife of Pastor Playford. He was brought up on the Mitcham property in South Australia, was intellectual and bookminded, and wished to go the prestigious St Peter's College to study law. He was rebuked by his father and subsequently became a farmer like his predecessors, buying property at Norton Summit and growing vegetables, plums and apples.^[5] He was elected to the local East Torrens Council in 1863 at the age of 27; and then to the State Parliament in 1868 as a 'liberal' (parties were not yet in existence), representing the constituency of Onkaparinga. He became known as 'Honest Tom' for his straightforward and blunt ways. He would loose his seat in 1871 and return in 1875 only to loose it again. He became Premier (the position then termed 'Prime Minister') of South Australia when he regained his seat in 1887. He lost the Premiership in 1889, regained it in 1890, and then spent a great deal of his term absent, in India. After losing an election, he relocated to London to represent South Australia in England as Agent General. While in England, Playford was three times offered a knighthood, and declined it every time.^[6]

He returned to South Australia to assist Charles Kingston in his government, but ultimately crossed the floor to bring down Kingston over his plans to lessen the power of the Legislative Council. With the advent of Australian Federation, Playford proposed the name 'Commonwealth of Australia', and became a Senator for South Australia. He was leader of the Senate and the 7th Minister of Defence. After one term as a Senator, Playford was defeated. He ran again in 1910, was unsuccessful, and retired to Kent Town, where he died in 1915 at the age of 78.^[7]

The fourth Playford, father of Sir Thomas, was born in 18xx. Unlike his own father and grandfather, who had led lives as soliders, church men and politicans, he became a simple farmer at the Norton Summit property and was dominated by his wife, Elizabeth. He was, like his forebears, a regular churchgoer, and only once was involved in politics with a short stint on the East Torrens District Council. In comparison, Elizabeth was the local correspondent of the The Advertiser, treasurer and chief member of the local Baptist Church, and a teacher. Four children was born to the couple; three daughters and one son, Sir Thomas.^[8]

[edit] Early life

Thomas Playford was the third child born to the family, with two sisters before him and one following. He started school at the age of six, going to the local Norton Summit School. The school had one room, one teacher, two assistants, 60 students and taught children aged six to twelve. Playford, while an adept learner, frequently argued with his teacher, and was the first child to have been caned there.^[9] While learning, he accompanied his father down to the East End Markets with their farming produce. Playford would late dub the East End Markets his 'university', due to the work that he carried out there.

His father suffered a fall and a broken leg when Playford was thirteen. He requested permission to leave school and take over the family farm; this was granted, and the boy, even after his father had recovered, dominated the management of the farm.^[10] While out of school, Playford continued to learn. He joined the local Norton Summit Society, and took part in classes and debates in Adelaide. He won a public speaking award for a speech he made to an Adelaide literary society.^[11]

World War I broke out in 1914 and Playford wished to join the AIF. His parents persuaded him to assist them on the farm until close to his 19th birthday. He entered Keswick Barracks on May 17, 1915 and was placed in the 27th Battalion.^[12] The news of the bloody landings at Gallipoli had not reached Adelaide by the time Playford left on HMAT Geelong on May 31. The Geelong picked up more soldiers at Perth, and then sailed to Suez, Egypt.^[13]

The Australian soldiers received training in Egypt, but during the evenings left their camps to induldge themselves in the Egyptian towns and cities. Frequent fights broke out between the Australian troops and the natives, with resposible soldiers left to take the rest back to camp. Playford assisted in this, and dragged numerous pantsless Australian soldiers from the beds of Egyptian prostitues.^[14] Training was completed after two months and the soldiers then landed at Anzac Cove on September 12, 1915. After taking part in the Gallipoli campaign, Playford and his battalion left for France on March 15, 1916. He fought on the western front and was shot and wounded on October 20, evacuated to London, and kept out of action for a year.

[edit] Ascendence to office

[edit] Wartime development

[edit] Industrialisation

[edit] Don Dunstan

[edit] Fall from power

[edit] Retirement

[edit] References

• Blewett, Neal (1971). Playford to Dunstan: The Politics of Transition. Griffin Press Limited. ISBN 0-7015-1299-7.
• Crocker, Walter (1983). Sir Thomas Playford: A Portrait. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0-522-84250-X.
• Cockburn, Stewart (1991). Playford: Benevolent Despot. Axiom Publishing. ISBN 0-9594-1644-7.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links