Paddy Crick
Encyclopedia
William Patrick Crick, known as Paddy Crick or W.P.Crick (10 February 1862 – 23 August 1908) was an Australia
n politician, solicitor and newspaper proprietor. He was described by author, Cyril Pearl as an irresistible demagogue, who "looked like a prize fighter, dressed like a tramp, talked like a bullocky
, and to complete the pattern of popular virtues, owned champion horses which he backed heavily and recklessly."
, South Australia
and in about 1868 the family moved into western New South Wales
, settling at Spicer's Creek near Wellington
. He attended St Stanislaus' College, Bathurst
. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1886 and developed a successful practice in the criminal courts. In 1890 he married Mary Catherine Kelly, but they separated in 1892.
founded the Land and Industrial Alliance, a protectionist party aimed at country selectors
and city workers and ran unsuccessfully for election to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
in 1887. As an independent protectionist he was elected in 1889 as the member for West Macquarie
. He was notable for his verbal aggression in the house, especially when drunk, and in October 1889 he called several parliamentarians "bloody Orange hounds and thieves" and was subsequently found guilty of a contempt. In November 1890, Crick was ordered out of the House, but had to be physically removed. He was then expelled, but he won the ensuing by-election.
In August 1890 Crick was involved with William Nicholas Willis
in founding the Truth
newspaper, which was intended to promote their political and social views, but instead became largely a scandal sheet. He succeeded in having enacted a first offenders' probation bill in 1894. He was charged with conspiracy in 1895 in relation to the George Dean
case, but escaped conviction. By the mid 1890s he was said to be one of the biggest bettors on Sydney horse racing
and lived in hotels near Randwick Racecourse
. Nevertheless, as a master parliamentary tactician, he had become a leading member of the Protectionist Party
and having helped defeat the Free Trade
government in 1899, was rewarded with the position of Postmaster-General in the Lyne
government in September 1899.
Crick was Secretary for Lands from April 1901 to June 1904. He was elected as member for Blayney
on the abolition of West Macquarie in 1904. He expected to become Premier when John See
resigned and See recommended him for the position but Governor Sir Harry Rawson
refused to appoint Crick because of his excessive drinking in Executive Council
meetings and in due course asked Thomas Waddell
to be Premier.
From 1905 to 1907, Royal Commission
er William Owen investigated the administration of the Lands Department and found that Crick had overruled departmental advice on 35 occasions when granting leases to pastoralists in the Western Division. Owen found these actions to be corrupt and Crick was charged but not convicted of corruption. He resigned from Parliament in December 1906, but it insisted on formally expelling him. In August 1907 he was struck off as a solicitor. In 1907 he ran unsuccessfully for Surry Hills
.
Although he had reportedly been going to quit smoking and drinking in 1903, Crick suffered increasingly from cirrhosis of the liver and died of hematemesis
at the Sydney suburb of Randwick
. Crick was buried at Waverley Cemetery
on 25 August 1908.
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, solicitor and newspaper proprietor. He was described by author, Cyril Pearl as an irresistible demagogue, who "looked like a prize fighter, dressed like a tramp, talked like a bullocky
Bullocky
A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers. The American term for a bullocky is a bullwhacker.-History:...
, and to complete the pattern of popular virtues, owned champion horses which he backed heavily and recklessly."
Early life
Crick was born at TruroTruro, South Australia
Truro is a town in South Australia, 80 km northeast of Adelaide. It is on the Sturt Highway east of the Barossa Valley near where the highway crosses the ridge of the Mount Lofty Ranges. The town was laid out in 1847 and 1848 by John Howard Angas, the son of George Fife Angas who had bought...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and in about 1868 the family moved into western 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...
, settling at Spicer's Creek near Wellington
Wellington, New South Wales
Wellington is a town in inland New South Wales, Australia located at the junction of the Macquarie and Bell Rivers. The town is the administrative centre of the Wellington Shire Local Government Area. The town is 362 kilometres from Sydney on the Great Western Highway and Mitchell Highway...
. He attended St Stanislaus' College, Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1886 and developed a successful practice in the criminal courts. In 1890 he married Mary Catherine Kelly, but they separated in 1892.
Political career
In 1885 Crick and Edward O'SullivanEdward William O'Sullivan
Edward William O'Sullivan was an Australian journalist and politician.As a politician, O'Sullivan had strong Labour sympathies before the Labor Party had developed in New South Wales, and worked untiringly for old-age pensions until they became law in 1900...
founded the Land and Industrial Alliance, a protectionist party aimed at country selectors
Selection (Australian history)
Selection referred to "free selection before survey" of crown land in some Australian colonies under land legislation introduced in the 1860s. These acts were similar to the United States Homestead Act and were intended to encourage closer settlement, based on intensive agriculture, such as...
and city workers and ran unsuccessfully for election to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New 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...
in 1887. As an independent protectionist he was elected in 1889 as the member for West Macquarie
Electoral district of West Macquarie
West Macquarie was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales between 1859 and 1904, in the Bathurst region.-Members for West Macquarie:...
. He was notable for his verbal aggression in the house, especially when drunk, and in October 1889 he called several parliamentarians "bloody Orange hounds and thieves" and was subsequently found guilty of a contempt. In November 1890, Crick was ordered out of the House, but had to be physically removed. He was then expelled, but he won the ensuing by-election.
In August 1890 Crick was involved with William Nicholas Willis
William Nicholas Willis
William Nicholas Willis was an Australian politician and newspaper proprietor.-Early life:Willis was born in Mudgee, New South Wales and educated in a denominational school at Mudgee and briefly at St Mary's School in Sydney. He left school at nine to support his mother after his father's...
in founding the Truth
Truth (Sydney newspaper)
The Truth was a newspaper published in Sydney, Australia. It was founded in August 1890 by William Nicholas Willis and its first editor was Adolphus Taylor. In 1891 it claimed to be "The organ of radical democracy and Australian National Independence" and advocated "a republican Commonwealth...
newspaper, which was intended to promote their political and social views, but instead became largely a scandal sheet. He succeeded in having enacted a first offenders' probation bill in 1894. He was charged with conspiracy in 1895 in relation to the George Dean
George Dean (poisoner)
George Dean was a ferry-boat master in Sydney, Australia, who was charged with attempting to poisoning his wife. A large part of the Sydney public came to believe that Dean was innocent and that his wife and her mother had conspired against him...
case, but escaped conviction. By the mid 1890s he was said to be one of the biggest bettors on Sydney horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
and lived in hotels near Randwick Racecourse
Randwick Racecourse
Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horseracing in the Eastern Suburbs in Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse, is operated by the Australian Jockey Club and known to many Sydney racegoers as headquarters...
. Nevertheless, as a master parliamentary tactician, he had become a leading member of 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...
and having helped defeat the Free Trade
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...
government in 1899, was rewarded with the position of Postmaster-General in the Lyne
William Lyne
Sir William John Lyne KCMG , Australian politician, was Premier of New South Wales and a member of the first federal ministry.-Early life:...
government in September 1899.
Crick was Secretary for Lands from April 1901 to June 1904. He was elected as member for Blayney
Electoral district of Blayney
Blayney was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, created in 1904, partly replacing West Macquarie and Molong, and named after and including Blayney. It was abolished in 1913 and partly replaced by Lyndhurst.-Members for Blayney:...
on the abolition of West Macquarie in 1904. He expected to become Premier when John See
John See
Sir John See, KCMG was a member of the New South Wales Legislature from 26 November 1880 to 15 June 1901, and was then Premier of New South Wales from 1901 to 1904....
resigned and See recommended him for the position but Governor Sir Harry Rawson
Harry Rawson
Admiral Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson, GCB, GCMG RN , is chiefly remembered for overseeing the British Benin Expedition of 1897 that burned and looted the city of the Kingdom of Benin, now in Nigeria...
refused to appoint Crick because of his excessive drinking in Executive Council
Executive Council (Commonwealth countries)
An Executive Council in Commonwealth constitutional practice based on the Westminster system is a constitutional organ which exercises executive power and advises the governor or governor-general. Executive Councils often make decisions via Orders in Council.Executive Councillors are informally...
meetings and in due course asked Thomas Waddell
Thomas Waddell
Thomas Waddell , an Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1887 to 1917, was briefly the Premier of New South Wales during 1904, and was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1917 to 1934.-Early life:He was born in County Monaghan,...
to be Premier.
From 1905 to 1907, Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
er William Owen investigated the administration of the Lands Department and found that Crick had overruled departmental advice on 35 occasions when granting leases to pastoralists in the Western Division. Owen found these actions to be corrupt and Crick was charged but not convicted of corruption. He resigned from Parliament in December 1906, but it insisted on formally expelling him. In August 1907 he was struck off as a solicitor. In 1907 he ran unsuccessfully for Surry Hills
Electoral district of Surry Hills
Surry Hills was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, created in 1904 and named after and including Surry Hills. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed into the multi-member electorate of Sydney. It was...
.
Although he had reportedly been going to quit smoking and drinking in 1903, Crick suffered increasingly from cirrhosis of the liver and died of hematemesis
Hematemesis
Hematemesis or haematemesis is the vomiting of blood. The source is generally the upper gastrointestinal tract. Patients can easily confuse it with hemoptysis , although the latter is more common.-Signs:...
at the Sydney suburb of Randwick
Randwick, New South Wales
Randwick is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Randwick...
. Crick was buried at Waverley Cemetery
Waverley Cemetery
The Waverley Cemetery opened in 1877 and is a cemetery located on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. It is noted for its largely intact Victorian and Edwardian monuments. The cemetery contains the graves of many significant Australians including the poet Henry Lawson and...
on 25 August 1908.