George Pearce
The Honourable Sir George Pearce KCVO | |
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Senator for Western Australia | |
In office 29 March 1901 – 30 June 1938 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Mount Barker, South Australia | 14 January 1870
Died | 24 June 1952 82) Elwood, Victoria | (aged
Nationality | Australian |
Political party | Labor (1901–17) Nationalist (1917–31) UAP (1931–38) |
Spouse(s) | Eliza Maud Barrett |
Occupation | Carpenter |
Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO (14 January 1870 – 24 June 1952) was an Australian politician who was instrumental in founding the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia. He was also involved in the Emu War of 1932.
Pearce, a carpenter, was born in Mount Barker, South Australia, to a Cornish Australian family,[1] and educated at Red Hill Public School until he was 11. He worked on farms and later became a carpenter in Adelaide, but lost that job in the depression of 1891 and moved to Western Australia. He joined the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners and soon became heavily involved in the union movement. In April 1897 he married Eliza Maud Barrett.[2]
Political career
In 1893, Pearce helped found the Progressive Political League, a precursor to the West Australian branch of the ALP. Self-educated in politics and economics, in 1901 he was elected to the first Commonwealth Parliament as a Senator for Western Australia. He narrowly missed out on being a member of the first Labor Party Cabinet when Chris Watson became Prime Minister in 1904. In 1908, he became Minister for Defence in the Cabinet of Andrew Fisher. He oversaw the foundation of the naval college at Jervis Bay and Royal Military College, Duntroon. In 1914 Australia entered World War I. Upon Billy Hughes' ascension as Prime Minister, Pearce was named Deputy Leader of the party.[2]
By this time, Australia's prosecution of the war made the introduction of conscription an intensely divisive issue for the ALP. Pearce was convinced of the necessity of introducing conscription, but the majority of his party did not agree. Pearce, along with many other of the party's founding members, subsequently followed Hughes out of the party and into the new "National Labor Party." A few months later, the National Labor Party merged with the Commonwealth Liberal Party to form the Nationalist Party, with Hughes as its leader.[2]
For much of 1916, Prime Minister Hughes was out of the country as a member of the Imperial war cabinet, during this time, over seven months, Pearce was acting prime minister, and the last person to rule for any length of time from the Senate.
Most of the defectors to the Nationalists subsequently faded into obscurity, but Pearce went on to have a successful career in the party of his erstwhile opponents. After Hughes was deposed as Nationalist leader, Pearce accepted a position in the ministry of Hughes' successor and rival, Stanley Bruce. He became the inaugural Father of the Senate in 1923. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1927.[3] In 1932, Pearce joined the newly formed United Australia Party, and served as a minister in the government of Joseph Lyons until his defeat at the 1937 election (his term ended in June 1938). He was a Senator for 37 years and three months, a record term. His total service as a minister was 24 years and seven months, also a record in the Australian Parliament. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the Senate of the first Australian Parliament.[2]
Pearce died at home in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood, survived by two sons and two daughters.[2] RAAF Base Pearce, the Division of Pearce and the Canberra suburb of Pearce are named after him.
Notes
- ↑ Payton, Philip. The Cornish Overseas, 2005.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Beddie, B. (1988). "Pearce, Sir George Foster (1870 - 1952)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
- ↑ It's an Honour: KCVO
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Pearce (Australian politician). |
Parliament of Australia | ||
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New title | Senator for Western Australia 1901–1938 |
Succeeded by Robert Ernest Clothier |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Thomas Ewing |
Minister for Defence 1908–1909 |
Succeeded by Joseph Cook |
Preceded by Joseph Cook |
Minister for Defence 1910–1913 |
Succeeded by Edward Millen |
Preceded by Edward Millen |
Minister for Defence 1914–1921 |
Succeeded by Walter Massy-Greene |
Preceded by Alexander Poynton |
Minister for Home and Territories 1921–1926 |
Succeeded by William Glasgow |
Preceded by Llewellyn Atkinson |
Vice-President of the Executive Council 1926–1929 |
Succeeded by John Daly |
Preceded by Ben Chifley |
Minister for Defence 1932–1934 |
Succeeded by Archdale Parkhill |
Preceded by John Latham |
Minister for External Affairs 1934–1937 |
Succeeded by Billy Hughes |
Preceded by Harry Lawson |
Minister in charge of Territories 1934–1937 | |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Billy Hughes |
Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party 1915–1916 |
Succeeded by Albert Gardiner |
Preceded by Gregor McGregor |
Leader of the Australian Labor Party in the Senate 1914–1916 | |
New political party | Leader of the National Labor Party in the Senate 1916–1917 |
Defunct political party |
Preceded by Edward Millen |
Leader of the Nationalist Party in the Senate 1923–1931 |
Defunct political party |
New political party | Leader of the United Australia Party in the Senate 1931–1937 |
Succeeded by Alexander McLachlan |
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