Archdale Parkhill
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Archdale Parkhill KCMG (27 August 1878 – 2 October 1947) was an Australian politician. He was born at Paddington
in Sydney to Robert Parkhill, a stonemason, and Isabella, née Chisholm. He attended Paddington and Waverley
Public schools and became known as an excellent sportsman, participating in cricket, fencing, boxing and horse riding. He began work as a clerk but eventually became alderman
of Waverley Municipal Council
from 1904–09. He became secretary of the Liberal and Reform Association
of New South Wales
in 1904, and on 9 May 1906 married Florence Ruth Watts at Woollahra
.
, Parkhill reformed the Commonwealth Liberal Party
, making it and its successor, the Nationalist Party
, extremely efficient political machines. He directed nineteen Federal and State election and referendum
campaign
s between 1904 and 1928, presiding over the introduction of new campaign techniques such as film and radio. Despite his professionalism, he was also unscrupulous, being sued for libel in 1914. His most successful campaign was for the 1925 Federal election
, when he combined fear of Bolshevism, with which the opposition Labor Party
was sometimes associated, with traditional Australian aspirations of home ownership.
Due to his considerable success and efficiency, Parkhill became a national figure, and was closely involved in the formation of the Nationalist Party
after the split in the Labor Party due to the issue of conscription
in 1916. He became closely associated with Prime Minister Billy Hughes
, who had led the Labor split, and was the central figure in the organisation of the Nationalist Party under both Hughes and his successor, Stanley Bruce
. In this capacity, he served as secretary of the Australian National Federation. In another role, as secretary of the New South Wales Consultative Council from 1919 to 1929, he organised fund-raising for the ANF's Victorian equivalent, the National Union.
to Hughes, but was able to enter Parliament via the equally safe seat of Warringah
at a by-election following the retirement of Sir Granville Ryrie
in 1927. His ministerial ambitions were suspended when the Government lost the 1929 election
, although he became prominent in the ensuing Opposition under the leadership of John Latham. He was instrumental in reviving Nationalist morale, which was partly responsible for the implosion of Labor
Prime Minister James Scullin
's government.
Parkhill, who was deeply attached to the Nationalist Party
(going so far as to call it his "Nicene Creed
"), was not enthusiastic about the formation of the United Australia Party
, successor to the Nationalist Party, under Labor defector Joseph Lyons
. He described it as a "party of spare parts"; nevertheless, when the party won the 1931 election
, Parkhill was appointed Minister for Home Affairs
and Minister for Transport
in January 1932. In April 1932, he became Minister for the Interior
, which replaced the porfolios of Home Affairs and Transport. In October 1932, he lost the interior porfolio, but gained the position of Postmaster-General
. By 1934 he was a member of the Cabinet
and was third only to Lyons and Latham in the government, often serving as acting Prime Minister. By now, he had become one of Lyons's strongest supporters.
As Minister for Defence
(1934–1937), Parkhill cultivated a bipartisan approach, but his selection of an American model of aircraft for the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
, which he had established, cost him support within the party. He was defeated by Robert Menzies
for the deputy leadership of the United Australia Party in December 1935, but was nevertheless the leader of the Australian delegation to King George VI
's coronation in 1937. However, he was defeated in the 1937 election
by unofficial UAP candidate Percy Spender
on preferences
, and, shocked, refused to shake hands after the poll.
, but the success of Spender destroyed his hopes. Despite persistent rumours, he never returned to public life, and attacked Menzies' wartime leadership as "tragic". He died at St Luke's Hospital in Sydney in 1947 and was buried in Waverley Cemetery, survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
. His reputation as a dandy
, partly due to his famous propensity to be over-dressed, led to nicknames including "Archduke", "Sir Spats", "Sir Kewpie" and "Perky". He always aspired to be Prime Minister, and his defeat for deputy party leader was a personal blow to Joseph Lyons
. He is held partly responsible for the revival of the parties opposed to Labor in the 1930s, and for his effective Defence policy.
Paddington, New South Wales
Paddington is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Paddington is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Sydney and the Municipality of Woollahra...
in Sydney to Robert Parkhill, a stonemason, and Isabella, née Chisholm. He attended Paddington and Waverley
Waverley, New South Wales
Waverley is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waverley is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council....
Public schools and became known as an excellent sportsman, participating in cricket, fencing, boxing and horse riding. He began work as a clerk but eventually became alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
of Waverley Municipal Council
Waverley Municipal Council
Waverley Municipal Council is a Local Government Area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- History :...
from 1904–09. He became secretary of the Liberal and Reform Association
Liberal Reform Party (Australia)
The Liberal Reform Party was an Australian political party, active in New South Wales state politics between 1901 and 1916. The question of tariff policy which, had created and divided the Free Trade Party and Protectionist Party in New South Wales in the 1890s, became a federal issue at the time...
of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in 1904, and on 9 May 1906 married Florence Ruth Watts at Woollahra
Woollahra, New South Wales
Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. The Municipality of Woollahra takes its name from the...
.
Party politics
Influenced by his mentor Joseph CarruthersJoseph Carruthers
Sir Joseph Hector McNeil Carruthers KCMG was an Australian politician and Premier of New South Wales.According to Percival Serle, few premiers of New South Wales succeeded in doing so much distinguished work...
, Parkhill reformed the Commonwealth Liberal Party
Commonwealth Liberal Party
The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....
, making it and its successor, the Nationalist Party
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
, extremely efficient political machines. He directed nineteen Federal and State election and referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
campaign
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
s between 1904 and 1928, presiding over the introduction of new campaign techniques such as film and radio. Despite his professionalism, he was also unscrupulous, being sued for libel in 1914. His most successful campaign was for the 1925 Federal election
Australian federal election, 1925
Federal elections were held in Australia on 14 November 1925. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 22 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
, when he combined fear of Bolshevism, with which the opposition Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
was sometimes associated, with traditional Australian aspirations of home ownership.
Due to his considerable success and efficiency, Parkhill became a national figure, and was closely involved in the formation of the Nationalist Party
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
after the split in the Labor Party due to the issue of conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
in 1916. He became closely associated with Prime Minister Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
, who had led the Labor split, and was the central figure in the organisation of the Nationalist Party under both Hughes and his successor, Stanley Bruce
Stanley Bruce
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created...
. In this capacity, he served as secretary of the Australian National Federation. In another role, as secretary of the New South Wales Consultative Council from 1919 to 1929, he organised fund-raising for the ANF's Victorian equivalent, the National Union.
Federal politics
In 1922, Parkhill was persuaded to surrender his candidacy for the safe Nationalist seat of North SydneyDivision of North Sydney
The Division of North Sydney is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division is named after the North Sydney area where it is located. It was proclaimed in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election...
to Hughes, but was able to enter Parliament via the equally safe seat of Warringah
Division of Warringah
The Division of Warringah is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, and covers most of the land between Middle Harbour and the Pacific Ocean. It extends from Port Jackson in the south to the suburb of Dee Why in the...
at a by-election following the retirement of Sir Granville Ryrie
Granville Ryrie
Major General Sir Granville de Laune Ryrie KCMG, CB, VD was an Australian soldier and politician who served in the Second Boer War and the First World War.-Early life:...
in 1927. His ministerial ambitions were suspended when the Government lost the 1929 election
Australian federal election, 1929
Federal elections were held in Australia on 12 October 1929. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, with no Senate seats up for election, as a result of Billy Hughes and other rebel backbenchers crossing the floor over industrial relations legislation, depriving the...
, although he became prominent in the ensuing Opposition under the leadership of John Latham. He was instrumental in reviving Nationalist morale, which was partly responsible for the implosion of Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
Prime Minister James Scullin
James Scullin
James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
's government.
Parkhill, who was deeply attached to the Nationalist Party
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
(going so far as to call it his "Nicene Creed
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...
"), was not enthusiastic about the formation of the United Australia Party
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
, successor to the Nationalist Party, under Labor defector Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
. He described it as a "party of spare parts"; nevertheless, when the party won the 1931 election
Australian federal election, 1931
Federal elections were held in Australia on 19 December 1931. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
, Parkhill was appointed Minister for Home Affairs
Minister for Home Affairs (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Home Affairs has been Brendan O'Connor since 6 June 2009. The Home Affairs portfolio brings together agencies such as the Australian Customs Service , the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, which were previously the...
and Minister for Transport
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport is the Hon Anthony Albanese. On 3 December 2007 he replaced the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, the Hon Mark Vaile, who held office since August 2006, and the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, the Hon Jim...
in January 1932. In April 1932, he became Minister for the Interior
Minister for Home Affairs (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Home Affairs has been Brendan O'Connor since 6 June 2009. The Home Affairs portfolio brings together agencies such as the Australian Customs Service , the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, which were previously the...
, which replaced the porfolios of Home Affairs and Transport. In October 1932, he lost the interior porfolio, but gained the position of Postmaster-General
Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (Australia)
The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy is currently Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy. He replaced Senator the Hon Helen Coonan on 3 December 2007.-Portfolio:...
. By 1934 he was a member of the Cabinet
Cabinet of Australia
The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister the Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, and serves at the former's pleasure. The strictly private...
and was third only to Lyons and Latham in the government, often serving as acting Prime Minister. By now, he had become one of Lyons's strongest supporters.
As Minister for Defence
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
(1934–1937), Parkhill cultivated a bipartisan approach, but his selection of an American model of aircraft for the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation was an Australian aircraft manufacturer. The CAC was established in 1936, to provide Australia with the capability to produce military aircraft and engines.-History:...
, which he had established, cost him support within the party. He was defeated by Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
for the deputy leadership of the United Australia Party in December 1935, but was nevertheless the leader of the Australian delegation to King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
's coronation in 1937. However, he was defeated in the 1937 election
Australian federal election, 1937
Federal elections were held in Australia on 23 October 1937. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
by unofficial UAP candidate Percy Spender
Percy Spender
Sir Percy Claude Spender, KCVO, KBE, QC, , was an Australian politician. diplomat and jurist.Spender was born in Sydney and educated at the prestigious Fort Street High School and later the University of Sydney. He joined the Commonwealth Public Service in 1915...
on preferences
Preferential voting
Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...
, and, shocked, refused to shake hands after the poll.
Later life
Parkhill joined a number of company boards after his electoral defeat and considered re-contesting WarringahDivision of Warringah
The Division of Warringah is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, and covers most of the land between Middle Harbour and the Pacific Ocean. It extends from Port Jackson in the south to the suburb of Dee Why in the...
, but the success of Spender destroyed his hopes. Despite persistent rumours, he never returned to public life, and attacked Menzies' wartime leadership as "tragic". He died at St Luke's Hospital in Sydney in 1947 and was buried in Waverley Cemetery, survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
Legacy
Parkhill was regarded as the leader of the conservative faction of the party, being extremely conservative morally and socially, and lent his support to free tradeFree trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
. His reputation as a dandy
Dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self...
, partly due to his famous propensity to be over-dressed, led to nicknames including "Archduke", "Sir Spats", "Sir Kewpie" and "Perky". He always aspired to be Prime Minister, and his defeat for deputy party leader was a personal blow to Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
. He is held partly responsible for the revival of the parties opposed to Labor in the 1930s, and for his effective Defence policy.