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Browsing: Protectionist Party

BEST, Sir Robert Wallace (1856–1946)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1901–10 (Protectionist)</span>

BEST, Sir Robert Wallace (1856–1946)
Senator for Victoria, 1901–10 (Protectionist)

Robert Wallace Best, described as ‘one of those excitable, exclamatory, vehement, enthusiastic men who continually give off heat like radium’, was born at Collingwood, Victoria, on 18 June 1856. His father, also Robert Best, was a farmer who became a customs officer; his mother was Jane, née Wallace. Both parents were Irish-born. The younger Robert Best was educated at the Templeton School in Fitzroy,

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CAMERON, Cyril St Clair (1857–1941)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1901–03, 1907–13 (Protectionist; Anti-Socialist Party)</span>

CAMERON, Cyril St Clair (1857–1941)
Senator for Tasmania, 1901–03, 1907–13 (Protectionist; Anti-Socialist Party)

Cyril St Clair Cameron, army officer and farmer, came from a northern Tasmanian family which produced four parliamentarians. Son of Donald Cameron, MLC, and Mary, née Morrison, he was born on 5 December 1857 at the family property, ‘Fordon’, Nile. Educated in Tasmania and Scotland, Cameron received a second lieutenant’s commission with the Queen’s Royal Lancers in 1879. In 1879–80, he served in Afghanistan,

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DOWNER, Sir John William (1843–1915)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1901–03 (Protectionist)</span>

DOWNER, Sir John William (1843–1915)
Senator for South Australia, 1901–03 (Protectionist)

John William Downer, federationist and defender of the smaller states, was born in Adelaide on 6 July 1843, the fourth son of Henry Downer, a tailor, and his wife Jane, née Field. His parents had emigrated from England in 1838. Downer was to live in Adelaide all his life. Downer attended a private academy and then completed his education at St Peter’s College, where

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DRAKE, James George (1850–1941)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1901–06 (Protectionist)</span>

DRAKE, James George (1850–1941)
Senator for Queensland, 1901–06 (Protectionist)

As one of two ministers in the first Senate, James George Drake established the largest of the seven new Commonwealth departments—that of Postmaster-General. Born in London on 26 April 1850, son of Edward Drake, a publican, and his wife, Ann Fanny, née Hyde, Drake was educated at King’s College School, London. Eager to see the world, he left London on the Abbey Holmeon 4

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FRASER, Sir Simon (1832–1919)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1901–13 (Protectionist; Anti-Socialist Party)</span>

FRASER, Sir Simon (1832–1919)
Senator for Victoria, 1901–13 (Protectionist; Anti-Socialist Party)

Simon Fraser, a successful entrepreneur who became wealthy from dealings in construction, grazing and banking, was a prominent and respected public figure. He was born in Canada, in the town of Pictou, Nova Scotia, on 21 August 1832, the youngest son of a Scottish migrant, William Fraser, a farmer and miller, and his wife Jane, née Fraser. Educated at a local school, Fraser emigrated

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GLASSEY, Thomas (1844–1936)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1901–03 (Protectionist)</span>

GLASSEY, Thomas (1844–1936)
Senator for Queensland, 1901–03 (Protectionist)

Thomas Glassey, miner and auctioneer, and widely regarded as Australia’s first Labor MP, was also a founder of the National Party in Queensland. Glassey was born at Markethill, County Armagh, Ireland, on 26 February 1844, son of Wilhelm Glassey, a mill hand who supported his large family on ten pence a day, and his wife Susannah, who died when Glassey was an infant. From

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KEATING, John Henry (1872–1940)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1901–23 (Protectionist; Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

KEATING, John Henry (1872–1940)
Senator for Tasmania, 1901–23 (Protectionist; Liberal Party; Nationalist Party)

John Henry Keating’s parting wish as he left the Federal Parliament after twenty-two years was that the Senate would ‘fulfil the functions which the founders of the Constitution fondly believed it would fulfil when they gave it its Constitution’.[1] At twenty-nine, Keating had been the youngest member of the first Commonwealth Parliament. According to Punch, in 1906 he was a ‘tall, plump, youthful looking

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MACKELLAR, Charles Kinnaird (1844–1926)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1903 (Protectionist)</span>

MACKELLAR, Charles Kinnaird (1844–1926)
Senator for New South Wales, 1903 (Protectionist)

Described affectionately as ‘the children’s friend’, Sir Charles Kinnaird Mackellar was a practical philanthropist whose life work involved the care of the ‘helpless, homeless and friendless’. A physician, businessman and social reformer, Mackellar was born in Sydney on 5 December 1844, the son of Frederick Mackellar, a distinguished medical practitioner, and Isabella McGarvie, née Robertson. After completing his education at Sydney Grammar School, Mackellar

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MULCAHY, Edward (1850–1927)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1904–10, 1919–20 (Protectionist; Nationalist Party)</span>

MULCAHY, Edward (1850–1927)
Senator for Tasmania, 1904–10, 1919–20 (Protectionist; Nationalist Party)

Edward Mulcahy, draper, was born in Limerick, Ireland, on 28 March 1850, one of a large family born to James Mulcahy, blacksmith, and Mary Anne, née McMahon. The Mulcahys arrived in Tasmania in June 1854, where James worked as a mechanic for the Hobart engineering firm of Davidson and Clark, while the young Edward became friends with Clark’s son, the future federationist, Andrew Inglis

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O’CONNOR, Richard Edward (1851–1912)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1901–03 (Protectionist)</span>

O’CONNOR, Richard Edward (1851–1912)
Senator for New South Wales, 1901–03 (Protectionist)

The first Leader of the Government in the Senate, Richard EdwardO’Connor, was born at Glebe, Sydney on 4 August 1851, the son of Richard O’Connor, librarian of the New South Wales Legislative Council and later Clerk of the Parliaments, and Mary Ann, née Harnett. He attended St Mary’s College, Lyndhurst, and Sydney Grammar School before entering the University of Sydney where, in 1870, he

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PLAYFORD, Thomas (1837–1915)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1901–06 (Protectionist)</span>

PLAYFORD, Thomas (1837–1915)
Senator for South Australia, 1901–06 (Protectionist)

Thomas Playford, fruit grower and politician of Adelaide, was born at Bethnal Green, London, on 26 November 1837, eldest surviving son of Thomas Playford and his second wife Mary Ann, née Perry. The senior Playford, whose occupation at the time of the birth of young Thomas was that of a clerk at the Horse Guards, migrated with his family to South Australia in 1844

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STYLES, James (1841–1913)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1901–06 (Protectionist)</span>

STYLES, James (1841–1913)
Senator for Victoria, 1901–06 (Protectionist)

James Styles was born in Croyden, Surrey, in 1841. In 1849, his parents, William and Harriet, née Friend, migrated to Victoria. William, who had been involved in railway building in England, worked as a contractor of roads and bridges. James was educated at various Melbourne schools, including St James’ Church of England School in William Street. He was then employed by a railway contractor

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ZEAL, Sir William Austin (1830–1912)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1901–06 (Protectionist)</span>

ZEAL, Sir William Austin (1830–1912)
Senator for Victoria, 1901–06 (Protectionist)

William Zeal was born on 5 December 1830 at Westbury, Wiltshire, England, the son of Thomas Zeal, a wine merchant and his wife Ann, née Greenland. Zeal was educated privately at schools in Westbury and Windsor, obtaining a diploma as a surveyor and engineer in 1851. In 1852, he migrated to Australia and headed straight to the Victorian goldfields. He worked for some two

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