Robert Best (Australian politician)
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Wallace Best KCMG (18 June 185627 March 1946) was an Australian politician.
Born in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood
to (Northern) Irish immigrants, and raised in Kyneton, Best was educated at Templeton's School, Fitzroy
. He left school at 13 and became a clerk in a printing office and then worked for a solicitor where he took articles and matriculated in 1875. He studied law at the University of Melbourne
and was admitted as a solicitor in 1881. He married Jane Langridge the same year. He was elected as an alderman on Fitzroy City Council
almost continuously from 1883 to 1897 and served as mayor in 1888 and 1889.
as the member for Fitzroy (since subsumed by the seat of Richmond) and was offered, but turned down, a position in William Shiels
' ministry in 1892. From September 1894 to December 1899 he was President of the Board of Land and Works, Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey and Commissioner of Trade and Customs. He was responsible for introducing tariff reform in 1896 and land reform in 1898 to promote closer settlement and acted twice as Premier.
Best was a strong supporter of the federation of Australia
and resigned from the Legislative Assembly and was elected to the Australian Senate
in the 1901 election. He was Vice-President of the Executive Council
and leader of the Senate from February 1907 until November 1908 in the third Deakin Ministry
and was responsible for tariff and excise bills. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
in 1908. He was appointed Minister for Trade and Customs
in Alfred Deakin
's Fusion ministry
from June 1909 to April 1910. He lost his seat in the landslide to Labor
at the 1910 election
, but was soon returned to Parliament at a by-election
for the House of Representatives
seat of Kooyong
. He supported the introduction of conscription and he became a Nationalist
in 1917. At the 1922 election
, he was beaten narrowly on Labor preferences by John Latham, who ran as an independent on the slogan, "Get Rid of Hughes
".
Best returned full time to his legal practice, which he had never abandoned. After the death of his first wife in 1901, he married Maude Evelyn Crocker-Smith. He died in 1946 in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn
survived by two sons and two daughters of his first marriage and four daughters of his second. His second daughter Phyllis Best was an actress who toured with Dame Sybil Thorndike
and married fellow actor and radio personality Atholl Fleming
. His third daughter, Helene Best, was also an actress who trained under Gregan McMahon
.
Born in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood
Collingwood, Victoria
Collingwood is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
to (Northern) Irish immigrants, and raised in Kyneton, Best was educated at Templeton's School, Fitzroy
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...
. He left school at 13 and became a clerk in a printing office and then worked for a solicitor where he took articles and matriculated in 1875. He studied law at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
and was admitted as a solicitor in 1881. He married Jane Langridge the same year. He was elected as an alderman on Fitzroy City Council
City of Yarra
The City of Yarra is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the inner eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 19.5 square kilometres, and at the 2006 census it had a population of 69,330...
almost continuously from 1883 to 1897 and served as mayor in 1888 and 1889.
Political career
In April 1889, Best was elected to the Victorian Legislative AssemblyVictorian 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 Fitzroy (since subsumed by the seat of Richmond) and was offered, but turned down, a position in William Shiels
William Shiels
William Shiels , Australian colonial politician, was the 16th Premier of Victoria.-Biography:Shiels was born in County Londonderry, Ireland of a Presbyterian family and arrived in Melbourne as a child in 1853...
' ministry in 1892. From September 1894 to December 1899 he was President of the Board of Land and Works, Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey and Commissioner of Trade and Customs. He was responsible for introducing tariff reform in 1896 and land reform in 1898 to promote closer settlement and acted twice as Premier.
Best was a strong supporter of the federation of Australia
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 resigned from the Legislative Assembly and 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,...
in the 1901 election. He was Vice-President of the Executive Council
Vice-President of the Executive Council
The Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council is a position in Australian federal governments, whose holder acts as presiding officer of the Federal Executive Council in the absence of the Governor-General....
and leader of the Senate from February 1907 until November 1908 in the third Deakin Ministry
Third Deakin Ministry
The Third Deakin Ministry was the sixth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 12 December 1906 to 13 November 1908.Protectionist Party...
and was responsible for tariff and excise bills. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
in 1908. He was appointed Minister for Trade and Customs
Minister for Trade (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Trade has been Dr. Craig Emerson since 14 September 2010.-Portfolio:Currently the Minister for Trade administers the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade jointly with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, although prior to 1987 there was a separate Department of Trade...
in Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...
's Fusion ministry
Fourth Deakin Ministry
The Fourth Deakin Ministry was the eighth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 2 June 1909 to 29 April 1910.Commonwealth Liberal Party*Hon Alfred Deakin, MP: Prime Minister *Hon Joseph Cook, MP: Minister for Defence...
from June 1909 to April 1910. He lost his seat in the landslide to 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...
at the 1910 election
Australian federal election, 1910
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 April 1910. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
, but was soon returned to Parliament at a by-election
Kooyong by-election, 1910
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Kooyong on 24 August 1910. This was triggered by the resignation of Commonwealth Liberal Party MP William Knox.The election was won by CLP candidate Robert Best.-Results:...
for 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....
seat of Kooyong
Division of Kooyong
The Division of Kooyong is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and encompasses the suburbs of Kew, Hawthorn, Hawthorn East, Balwyn, Canterbury, Camberwell and Surrey Hills. The Division was proclaimed in 1900, and was...
. He supported the introduction of conscription and he became a Nationalist
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...
in 1917. At the 1922 election
Australian federal election, 1922
Federal elections were held in Australia on 16 December 1922. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes lost its majority...
, he was beaten narrowly on Labor preferences by John Latham, who ran as an independent on the slogan, "Get Rid of Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
".
Best returned full time to his legal practice, which he had never abandoned. After the death of his first wife in 1901, he married Maude Evelyn Crocker-Smith. He died in 1946 in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn
Hawthorn, Victoria
Hawthorn is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara...
survived by two sons and two daughters of his first marriage and four daughters of his second. His second daughter Phyllis Best was an actress who toured with Dame Sybil Thorndike
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
and married fellow actor and radio personality Atholl Fleming
Atholl Fleming
Atholl Fleming was a British actor and an Australian radio personality.He was the third of nine children of R. S. Fleming, a Scottish Baptist minister of Beckenham in Kent. After a fall as a child, he became deaf in his right ear...
. His third daughter, Helene Best, was also an actress who trained under Gregan McMahon
Gregan McMahon
Gregan McMahon, CBE was an Australian actor and theatrical producer.McMahon was born in Sydney, elder son of John Terence McMahon, a clerk, and his wife Elizabeth, née Gregan. Both parents were emigrants from Ireland. McMahon was educated at Sydney Grammar School and St Ignatius' College, Riverview...
.