Thomas Playford IV

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Sir Thomas Playford circa 1938

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.

1 Overview
2 Premier
3 Legacy
4 References

[edit] Overview

Playford was descended from a long line of influential South Australian figures. His great grandfather was Thomas Playford Senior, a fiery Baptist minister who arrived in Adelaide in 1844 and, disgusted by the wickedness of the inhabitants, founded a new church called, simply, 'The Christian Church'. His grandfather was Thomas Playford II, also Premier of South Australia and his father was Thomas Playford III, a well known local farmer. Playford was born on July 5, 1896 on the family farm in the hills overlooking Adelaide. He left school at 13 to run the family farm following his father's illness, before enlisting in the army at the outbreak of World War I. At war's end he returned to the farm, and in 1932 he entered the South Australian House of Assembly as the Liberal and Country League (LCL) member for Murray. Following an electoral redistribution, Playford was elected to the constituency of Gumeracha on 19 March 1938 and was appointed Minister of Irrigation, Minister of Repatriation and Commissioner of Crown Lands. Seven months later, following the resignation of Richard Layton Butler, Playford ascended to Premier.

[edit] Premier

Sir Thomas Playford (left) receiving a barometer as a gift at the opening of the Birkenhead Terminal, Port Adelaide, 1950

A devout Baptist dedicated to the Protestant work ethic, Playford did not subscribe to the view that the state should be required to care for those in need, preferring that charities shoulder this load. He was also socially conservative, opposing the end of 6.00pm closing of hotels or women working as bartenders, and tended to be suspicious of educated people, having little time for those espousing economic theory. While hampered by a lack of public speaking skills, Playford possessed an extraordinary memory, which he used to remain informed on all issues South Australian. He also projected an avuncular image, particularly in the latter part of his reign, which did little to harm his popularity. However, he could be tough and obstinate when required, especially when dealing with prime ministers reluctant to grant Playford what he wanted.

As a cherry and produce farmer, Playford was not the wealthy Adelaide Establishment's first choice for Premier, and many of whom would contemptuously refer to him as a "cabbage grower". As the years of his rule rolled into its third decade, Playford would gleefully remind the elite "not bad for a cabbage grower, eh?"

The onset of World War II soon after his assumption of power meant much of his early work as Premier was dedicated to working with the Commonwealth on fighting a successful war. This included convincing the federal government to build munitions factories around Adelaide as it would be the least vulnerable area to enemy attack in Australia. Subsequently, Playford was able to then build South Australia as the manufacturing base of Australia by using this infrastructure to entice international manufacturers like General Motors and Chrysler to make use of these factories around Adelaide. From plans like these, termed 'Playfordian developmentalism', he oversaw the economy of South Australia move from one based on primary industry to a manufacturing centred economy and through this, guide South Australia through a period of growth not met by the other Australian states.

Although he led a conservative government, Playford was not afraid to use government funds to support development. Opposition Labor leader Mick O'Halloran once said that Playford's policies were "more socialistic than Labor could ever hope to implement even if it were in office." Being known as "the best Labor Premier South Australia could have" did have its drawbacks though as he did at times alienate many of his conservative LCL colleagues and it needed all his skills of persuasion to keep them from rebelling. Indeed, Playford's policies were often such anathema to LCL cohorts that he required support from Labor to pass his legislation.

Playford's often close relationship with the opposition Labor party never ceased to raise eyebrows. During his time as opposition leader, O'Halloran would have a weekly dinner with Playford to discuss the affairs of state and the future plans of Playford. While this would be considered unthinkable in many political jurisdictions, it suited both men well; Playford needed to keep Labor's support for many of his more radical development plans while O'Halloran was eager to see Labor friendly policies pushed by Playford and was apparently content to exercise influence behind the scenes and bask in Playford's praise of 'the conspicuous part' he played in the State's development.

Playford could point at the economic growth of the state as a reason for his continued election as Premier but he could also thank a gerrymander of his devising, known locally as a `Playmander', for his hold on power. The Playmander consisted of more seats being distributed in the less populated rural areas of the state (which were more likely to support the LCL) than in Adelaide and meant that he could comfortably remain in government even when Labor received a substantial majority of the popular vote. When questioned about this, Playford claimed that nowhere in the world was there a "one vote, one value" system. He would then add that people in the city were ne'er do wells who should not have the same say in the future of the state as good country folk.

In his final years as Premier, economic development, normally his speciality, stalled as other state premiers began to imitate Playford's policies and methods to achieve the same results for their states. Following the 1962 election, whereby the LCL clung onto power with the support of the independent Tom Stott, he hoped to strengthen the Playmander through legislation but failed, ultimately leading to his political demise at the 1965 elections, when he was defeated by the Frank Walsh led Labor Party.

Following the election loss, Playford initially continued as leader of the opposition but resigned from that position on July 5, 1966 (his seventieth birthday) and declared his intent to retire from politics at the next election. Following his retirement, Playford served on various boards in South Australia until his death in 1981.

[edit] Legacy

Sir Thomas Playford circa 1965

Playford was honoured for his service to South Australia with a knighthood in 1957 and his legacy lives on in South Australia with a local council area named for him. His shadow continued to loom over South Australia though, as the Liberal and Country League collapsed in acrimony not long after his retirement and as subsequent governments attempted to continue his work developing the state, not always with the desired results.

Playford's ultimate legacy though perhaps was to illustrate how one person could almost single-handedly run a state for over a quarter of a century; as one observer noted "he was often so right that people were hesitant to raise their voices on the rare occasions he was wrong."

[edit] References

The Flinders history of South Australia. Political history, ed. D. Jaensch, 1986, Wakefield Press, Netley, South Australia. ISBN 1-86254-003-9
Playford's South Australia: essays on the history of South Australia, 1933-1968, ed. B. O'Neil, J. Raftery & K. Round. 1996, Association of Professional Historians, Adelaide. ISBN 0-646-29092-4
Playford: benevolent despot, S. Cockburn, 1991, Axiom, Adelaide. ISBN 0-9594164-4-7
Parliament of South Australia, Thomas Playford IV Profile