| The Honourable Richard Foster |
|
|---|---|
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Wakefield |
|
| In office 28 August 1909 – 17 November 1928 |
|
| Preceded by | Frederick Holder |
| Succeeded by | Maurice Collins |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 August 1856 Goodmanham, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 5 January 1932 (aged 75) St Peters, South Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal (1909–17) Nationalist (1917–22) Liberal (1922–25) Nationalist (1925–28) |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Lees |
| Occupation | Grocer |
Richard Witty Foster (20 August 1856 – 5 January 1932) was an Australian politician. Foster was born in Goodmanham, Pocklington, Yorkshire, England and educated at Prospect House, Tockwith and apprenticed to a draper. He emigrated to South Australia in 1880 and established a business as a grocer and general provider at Quorn. He married Elizabeth Lees in September 1884. He was elected to Quorn council in 1887 and was mayor from 1890 to 1893.[1]
In 1893, Foster was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly as the member for Newcastle. He was Commissioner for Public Works from 1899 to 1904 and Minister for Industry from 1902 to 1904 in the liberal governments of Frederick Holder and John Jenkins. He resigned from the ministry in 1904, but still supported Jenkins until it fell in 1905 and was then Commissioner for Public Works and Minister for Agriculture in the conservative administration of Richard Butler, but lost his seat in 1906.[1]
Foster won the seat of Wakefield in the Australian House of Representatives at a 1909 by-election for the Commonwealth Liberal Party. In December 1921, he was appointed Minister for Works and Railways in the Hughes ministry, but was dropped from the ministry in February 1923 by Stanley Bruce. He refused to join the South Australian Country Party and was beaten by its candidate, Maurice Collins in the 1928 elections.[1]
Foster died in the Adelaide suburb of St Peters, survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.[1]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Watt |
Minister for Works and Railways 1921 – 1923 |
Succeeded by Percy Stewart |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by Frederick Holder |
Member for Wakefield 1909 – 1928 |
Succeeded by Maurice Collins |