Bernhard Ringrose Wise
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician. He was a social reformer, seen by some as a traitor to his class, but who was not fully accepted by the labor Movement. He said, "My failure in Sydney has been so complete—my qualities those which Australia does not recognise, my defects those which Australians dislike most." When he died, William Holman
William Holman
William Arthur Holman was an Australian Labor Party Premier of New South Wales, Australia, who split with the party on the conscription issue in 1916 during World War I, and immediately became Premier of a conservative Nationalist Party Government.-Early life:Holman was born in St Pancras, London,...
said, "There is hardly anything in our public life which we have to consider to-day that cannot be traced back to his brilliant mind and clear foresight … [Wise] held undisputed supremacy as the foremost debater, foremost thinker and foremost public man in the life of New South Wales".
Early life
Wise was born in the SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
suburb of Petersham
Petersham, New South Wales
Petersham is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Petersham is located 6 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council...
. He was the second son of Edward Wise
Edward Wise
Edward Wise was a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.Wise was born in England, educated at Rugby School, and called to the bar in 1844. He went to Sydney, Australia in 1855 and soon afterward entered politics...
, a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
. After his father's death in 1865, his mother took the family to Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to put her sons through grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
, where their "homemade clothes exposed us to ridicule and bullying". She moved to Rugby
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
and took work, so that Wise could be educated at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
as a day student. He won a ₤
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
90 a year scholarship to The Queen's College
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its 18th-century architecture...
, Oxford, where he had a distinguished career, being Cobden prizeman in 1878 and gaining a first class in the honour school of law in 1880. He was president of the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
and president of the Oxford University athletic club.
He was amateur mile champion of Great Britain, 1879–81, and his interest in athletics led to his co-founding the Amateur Athletic Association, alongside Clement Jackson
Clement Jackson
Clement Nugent Jackson was a British athlete, academic and athletics administrator.-Early life:He was born in Simla, India, the second son of Lt-Gen George Jackson of the Bengal Staff Corps, and Phillis Sophia Strode....
, and Montague Shearman
Montague Shearman
Sir Montague Shearman was an English judge and athlete. He is most notable as co-founder of the Amateur Athletics Association in 1880.-Early life:...
, of which he was elected the first president. This became a very important body whose influence was eventually extended all over the world. In 1882, he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and worked closely with the social reformer, Arnold Toynbee
Arnold Toynbee
Arnold Toynbee was a British economic historian also noted for his social commitment and desire to improve the living conditions of the working classes.-Biography:...
. He was called to the bar of the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in April 1883, and in August 1883, he returned to Sydney with his fiancée, Lilian Margaret Baird, whom he married in April 1884. He was admitted as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
in August 1883 and began to build up a successful practice.
Political career
In February 1887, Wise was elected to the Legislative AssemblyNew South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
for the working class district of South Sydney
Electoral district of South Sydney
South Sydney was an electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the Australian State of New South Wales from 1880 to 1894, covering the southern part of the current Sydney central business district, Haymarket, Surry Hills, Moore Park and Chippendale, bordered by George Street, Broadway,...
, advocating direct taxation, payment of members, an eight-hour day and free trade. On 27 May, became Attorney-General of New South Wales in Henry Parkes
Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG was an Australian statesman, the "Father of Federation." As the earliest advocate of a Federal Council of the colonies of Australia, a precursor to the Federation of Australia, he was the most prominent of the Australian Founding Fathers.Parkes was described during his...
's ministry. Eight months later he resigned because as Attorney-General he was prohibited from taking briefs and he was defeated at the January 1889 election. In the 1890 maritime strike
1890 Australian maritime dispute
The 1890 Australian Maritime Dispute, commonly known as the 1890 Maritime Strike, was on a scale unprecedented in the Australian colonies to that point in time, causing political and social turmoil across all Australian colonies and in New Zealand, including the collapse of colonial governments in...
, he supported the right of the workers to strike, and won back his seat in South Sydney, despite his education and accent.
Wise had always been interested in federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
and in May 1890 suggested that a journal should be established for the discussion of federal problems. A strong editorial committee was formed and two numbers of the Australian Federalist appeared at the beginning of 1891. In November of that year, when the retirement of Parkes necessitated a new leader being elected, Wise might possibly have been given the position, but though nominated he retired in favour of George Houston Reid. In 1894, he was returned as member for Sydney-Flinders
Electoral district of Sydney-Flinders
Sydney-Flinders was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, created in 1894 in inner Sydney from part of the electoral district of South Sydney and named after maritime explorer Matthew Flinders. It was in the Surry Hills area, bounded by Riley...
. His failure to choose sides between Reid and Parkes during a no-confidence debate
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
left him isolated and he was defeated for re-election in 1895.
Federation
He was elected as a representative of New South Wales at the 1897 Federal Convention and was a member of the judiciary committee. He fought for Federation in the referendum campaign of 1898 and at the New South Wales election allied himself with Edmund BartonEdmund Barton
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....
. In August 1898, he was returned as member for Ashfield
Electoral district of Ashfield
Ashfield was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, first created in 1894 with the abolition of multi-member electoral districts from part of Canterbury, and named after the Sydney suburb of Ashfield. It was abolished in 1920, with the...
. He left the Free Trade Party
Free Trade Party
The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states and renamed the Anti-Socialist Party in 1906, was an Australian political party, formally organised between 1889 and 1909...
because he felt that free trade was being put before federalism. As he afterwards phrased it, "I preferred nationhood to local politics". He was Attorney-General in Lyne's ministry front September 1899 to March 1901. But as a candidate for the Federal House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
rural seat of Canobolas
Division of Canobolas
The Division of Canobolas was an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1901, and was one of the original 75 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. It was abolished in 1906, when the Division of Calare was created. It was named for Mount...
, though really a convinced freetrader, he was labelled a protectionist on account of his association with Lyne and Barton, and he was seen as a "city" barrister. A freetrader gained the seat, and Wise was lost to federal politics.
Legal reform
Wise was Attorney-General from September 1899 to June 1904, and from July 1901 was also Minister of Justice. He was now able to put through some of his ideas for social reform and succeeded in passing important legislation, including the Industrial Arbitration Act (1901), the Early Closing Act (1899), the Old-age Pensions Act (1900) and the Women's Franchise Act (1902). In October 1900, he moved to the New South Wales Legislative CouncilNew South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
to pilot the Arbitration bill through. More than once passed a State Children's bill through the Council only to have it thrown out in the Assembly and its ideas were incorporated in the Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act (1905). He was acting-Premier for part of 1903-4.
He subsequently travelled, and while in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
in 1906 contracted malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
which affected his health for the remainder of his days. Most of his time was spent in England and in May 1915 he was appointed Agent-General for New South Wales. He worked hard in spite of his ill-health and died suddenly in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
. His wife survived him with one son.