John George Barrett 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. Born in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, he was educated there at St Mary's Anglican School before becoming apprenticed as a tinsmith

Tinsmith

A tinsmith, or tinner or tinker or tinplate worker, is a person who makes and repairs things made of light-coloured metal, particularly tinware...

. He was founder and President of the Tinsmith's Society, and also served as President of the Melbourne Trades Hall Council

Victorian Trades Hall

Victorian Trades Hall is a Trades Hall building located in the suburb of Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and home to the Victorian Trades Hall Council....

. In 1895, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

 as the member for Carlton, where he remained until 1897. In 1901, he was elected to the Australian Senate

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,...

 as a 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...

 Senator from Victoria, although he was also endorsed by the Protectionist Party

Protectionist Party

The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...

. He was one of only three Labor members elected to the first Parliament from Victoria (the other two were members of the 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....

, Frank Tudor

Frank Tudor

Francis Gwynne "Frank" Tudor was an Australian-born felt hatter and politician. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1916 till his death.-Early life:...

 and James Ronald

James Ronald

James Black Ronald was an Australian politician. Born in Scotland, he was educated at Edinburgh University and became a Presbyterian clergyman. Migrating to Australia in 1888, he became a clergyman in Melbourne...

). He was defeated in 1903, but continued to be active in the union movement; he was also an active prohibitionist. Barrett died in 1928.