George Pearce
Encyclopedia
Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO
(14 January 1870 – 24 June 1952) was an Australia
n politician
who was instrumental in founding the Australian Labor Party
in Western Australia
.
Pearce, a carpenter, was born in Mount Barker, South Australia
, to a Cornish Australian
family, 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.
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.
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 a new "National Labor
" (later Nationalist Party of Australia
) ministry.
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.
In 1932 Sir George 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.
Pearce died at home in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood
, survived by two sons and two daughters. RAAF Base Pearce
, the Division of Pearce
and the Canberra
suburb of Pearce
are named after him.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(14 January 1870 – 24 June 1952) was an Australia
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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who was instrumental in founding the Australian 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...
in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
Pearce, a carpenter, was born in Mount Barker, South Australia
Mount Barker, South Australia
Mount Barker is an expanding city, home to 10 258 residents that is 33 kilometres up the South Eastern Freeway, east of Adelaide, in South Australia. It is the seat of the District Council of Mount Barker, is the largest town in the Adelaide Hills, and is one of the fastest growing areas in the...
, to a Cornish Australian
Cornish Australian
Cornish Australians are citizens of Australia whose ancestry originates in Cornwall, United Kingdom, one of the six Celtic Nations. They form part of the worldwide Cornish diaspora which also includes large numbers of people in the US, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico and many Latin...
family, and educated at Red Hill Public School until he was 11. He worked on farms and later became a carpenter in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, 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.
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 ParliamentParliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
as a Senator
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
for Western Australia. He narrowly missed out on being a member of the first Labor Party 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...
when Chris Watson
Chris Watson
John Christian Watson , commonly known as Chris Watson, Australian politician, was the third Prime Minister of Australia...
became Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
in 1904. In 1908, he became 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:...
in the Cabinet of Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher was an Australian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister on three separate occasions. Fisher's 1910-13 Labor ministry completed a vast legislative programme which made him, along with Protectionist Alfred Deakin, the founder of the statutory structure of the new nation...
. He oversaw the foundation of the naval college at Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay is a large bay bounded by the state of New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, and a detached enclave of the Australian Capital Territory. HMAS Creswell is located between Jervis Bay Village and Greenpatch in the Jervis Bay Territory.-History:...
and Royal Military College, Duntroon
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
. In 1914 Australia entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Upon Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
' ascension as Prime Minister, Pearce was named Deputy Leader of the party.
By this time, Australia's prosecution of the war made the introduction 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...
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 a new "National Labor
National Labor Party
The National Labor Party was the name used by the Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes for himself and his followers after he was expelled from the Australian Labor Party in November 1916 over his pro-conscription stance in relation to World War I...
" (later Nationalist Party of Australia
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...
) ministry.
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
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...
. He became the inaugural Father of the Senate in 1923. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(KCVO) in 1927.
In 1932 Sir George Pearce joined the newly formed 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...
, and served as a minister in the government of 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...
until his defeat at 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...
(his term ended in June 1938). He was a Senator for 37 years and three months, a record term
Members of the Parliament of Australia who have served for at least 30 years
This is a list of Members of the Parliament of Australia who have served for at least 30 years.Their service does not need to be continuous; broken terms are aggregated.All these periods of service were spent in one House exclusively...
. 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.
Pearce died at home in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood
Elwood, Victoria
Elwood is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, survived by two sons and two daughters. RAAF Base Pearce
RAAF Base Pearce
RAAF Base Pearce is the main RAAF base in Western Australia. The base is located in Bullsbrook, north of Perth. It is used for training by the Royal Australian Air Force and the Republic of Singapore Air Force...
, the Division of Pearce
Division of Pearce
The Division of Pearce is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Western Australia. It is located to the east and north of Perth, taking in the rural areas adjoining the Perth metropolitan area to the south-east, east and north-east, then sweeping around to the Indian Ocean where it...
and the Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
suburb of Pearce
Pearce, Australian Capital Territory
Pearce is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Woden. The postcode is 2607. It was named after the longest-serving Senator and longest-serving Minister in Australia's federal history, Sir George Pearce....
are named after him.