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98-600: In 1892 Edmund Barton , an advocate of Federation and Australia's first Prime Minister , visited Corowa to urge support of the draft constitution produced by the National Federal Convention of 1891, then before the New South Wales Parliament. The Australian Natives' Association played a large part in Federation, and local support for federation was evident in the fact that Corowa was the location of

196-504: A by-election for Hastings and Macleay and was immediately elected leader of the opposition , which consisted of a mixture of pro-federation and anti-federation protectionists. In January 1899 Reid gained significant concessions from the other states and he joined Barton in campaigning for the second referendum in June 1899, with Barton campaigning all over the state. It passed 107,420 votes to 82,741. In August 1899 when it became clear that

294-454: A Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902, and was invested by King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 8 August 1902. (He was the only prime minister to be knighted during his term of office until Robert Menzies in 1963; various others were knighted after leaving the office; Sir Earle Page was already

392-664: A Ministry of enemies to Federation, they would get no vote from him". He topped the poll and subsequently voted with Parkes, but refused to take a position in his minority government. After the Labor Party withdrew support and the government fell in October 1891, Parkes persuaded him to take over the leadership of the Federal movement in New South Wales. Dibbs formed a Protectionist government in New South Wales, and Barton agreed to return to

490-591: A complex electoral reform bill. He introduced the federal resolutions into the House on 22 November 1892, but was unable to get them considered in committee. Meanwhile, he began a campaign to spread support for federation to the people with meetings in Corowa and Albury in December 1892. Although he finally managed to get the federal resolutions considered in committee in October 1893, he then could not get them listed for debate by

588-519: A cricketing trip to Newcastle in 1870 he met Jane Mason Ross , whom he married in 1877. In 1879, Barton umpired a cricket match at Sydney Cricket Ground between New South Wales and an English touring side captained by Lord Harris . After a controversial decision by Barton's colleague George Coulthard against the home side, the crowd spilled onto the pitch and assaulted some of the English players, leading to international cricket's first riot . In

686-535: A federal government without ever having been members of the Australian Parliament. The vast new Federation had a population of just 3.8 million, was yet to elect a Parliament, and had not settled on a location for a capital city. Thus, in January 1901, in an election speech, Barton set out such priorities for the nation as: providing for female franchise ; setting up a High Court of Australia ; selecting

784-405: A free trader, made the tariff issue his primary focus, but its significance was diminished by the fact that the new federal government would have to depend on tariffs for its revenue. Barton instead delivered "an electoral masterstroke" by making White Australia the centrepiece of the government's campaign, thereby attracting many working-class voters concerned about "coloured labour". Supporters of

882-452: A government again. Barton was an early supporter of federation, which became a serious political agenda after Henry Parkes' Tenterfield Oration , and was a delegate to the March 1891 National Australasian Convention . At the convention he made clear his support for the principle that "trade and intercourse ... shall be absolutely free" in a federal Australia. He also advocated that not just

980-406: A government. His reasons for doing so have been debated, but his decision was widely regarded as a mistake. Lyne, the premier of New South Wales, had actively campaigned against federation, and the leading politicians in each of the other colonies refused to serve under him. On 24 December, he informed Hopetoun that he was unable to form a government and advised him to send for Barton. As a result,

1078-539: A grand ceremony in Centennial Park , Sydney, on 1 January 1901. He and his cabinet were sworn in by Australia's first Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun before an estimated crowd of 250,000 people. Hopetoun had first offered the position to the Premier of New South Wales Sir William Lyne (an opponent of Federation), but the other members of Cabinet and the general population saw Barton as the logical choice. The appointment

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1176-423: A key role in the drafting of a national constitution , and was one of the lead campaigners for federation in the subsequent referendums . In late 1900, despite the initial " Hopetoun Blunder ", Barton was commissioned to form a caretaker government as Australia's first prime minister. His term began on 1 January 1901, the date on which federation occurred. At the first federal election in March 1901, Barton and

1274-640: A knight when he briefly became prime minister in 1939.) He received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from the University of Cambridge in 1900, and honorary Doctor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford and LL.D. from the University of Edinburgh while visiting the United Kingdom in the summer of 1902. He also received the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh during a visit to that city on 26 July 1902. In 1905,

1372-492: A position with the newly established High Court of Australia. He was succeeded as prime minister by his friend, colleague and co-campaigner in the cause of Federation, Alfred Deakin , who also became Minister for External Affairs in a Cabinet which remained largely unchanged. One of the most important issues dealt with by the new parliament was the establishment of a High Court. The Judiciary Act 1903, enacted in August, established

1470-514: A serious crisis when Kingston resigned from his ministry in July 1902 over a dispute with Labor over the jurisdiction of the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill. Many were by this stage concerned as to Barton's fortitude for a political agenda beyond the establishment of a federation. Barton's health declined and in August 1903, he collapsed in his room at Parliament and resigned the following month to take up

1568-533: A site for a federal capital; setting up a revenue system through tariffs; establishing a system to adjudicate interstate labour disputes; and building an east–west railway across the continent. The major issue of the first general election of March 1901 was to be whether or not Australia would be established as a Protectionist or Free Trade nation. Prior to Federation, the Colony of Victoria had settled on Protectionism, while New South Wales had favoured Free Trade. In

1666-503: A test in "any European language". Race had already been established as a premise for exclusion among the colonial parliaments, so the main question for debate was who exactly the new Commonwealth ought to exclude, with the Labor Party rejecting Britain's calls to placate the populations of its non-white colonies and allow "aboriginal natives of Asia, Africa, or the islands thereof". There was opposition from Queensland and its sugar industry to

1764-432: A third judge appointed to fill the vacancy caused by O'Connor's death. One of the new judges was Barton's friend Albert Piddington , whose appointment proved controversial due to his political views. He resigned from the court after a month, despite Barton's attempts to convince him to stay. The three vacancies were eventually filled by Frank Gavan Duffy , Charles Powers and George Rich , none of whom had been involved in

1862-553: Is also named after Barton. Barton government Prime Minister of Australia Term of government (1901–1903) Justice of the High Court of Australia (1903–1920) [REDACTED] The Barton government was the first federal executive government of the Commonwealth of Australia . It was led by Prime Minister Sir Edmund Barton , from 1 January 1901 until 24 September 1903, when Barton resigned to become one of

1960-537: Is equal' Drive branch of the Federation League proposed the idea of a conference to revive flagging interest in Federation. The Conference took place over 31 July to 1 August. Both the Premier and Opposition Leader of Victoria attended, but neither the Premier or the Opposition leader of New South Wales were present. Both Henry Parkes and Edmund Barton were also absent. There was evidently some ill-feeling between

2058-481: Is now the Fort Street Public School . He later attended Sydney Grammar School , possibly as one of the first students after the school's opening in 1857. One of his close friends in his youth was Richard O'Connor , who would eventually join him on the High Court. Barton was the dux and school captain at Sydney Grammar in 1863 and 1864. He matriculated at the University of Sydney in 1865, aged 16, and

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2156-523: The White Australia Policy ) to preference British and European migrants. Other key issues included the need for the establishment of a transcontinental railway, a High Court, a system for arbitrating on industrial disputes, and the provision of an old age pension . Following the March election, Barton's Protectionists won 27 seats in the newly formed 75-member Australian House of Representatives . Reid's Free Trade supporters won 32 seats, leaving

2254-567: The Boer War in South Africa. Britain sought further forces from the new Commonwealth, and Barton secured the agreement of the new Parliament, though Australian Federal forces did not reach South Africa until the final stages of that war. Barton was an Imperial loyalist, and represented Australia at the 1902 Coronation of Edward VII . Whilst in Britain, he was honoured with the title Knight Grand Cross of

2352-524: The Constitution of Australia and early commonwealth laws . Barton was an early supporter of the federation of the Australian colonies , the goal of which he summarised as "a nation for a continent, and a continent for a nation". After the retirement of Henry Parkes he came to be seen as the leader of the federation movement in New South Wales. He was a delegate to the constitutional conventions , playing

2450-637: The High Court of Australia , but other matters could be appealed to the Privy Council. Edmund was a Justice of the High Court for 16 years. Barton was appointed prime minister on 1 January 1901, the day on which the new federal constitution came into effect. He and various other dignitaries were driven through the streets of Sydney in a procession watched by thousands of onlookers, beginning in The Domain and ending at Centennial Park . A swearing-in ceremony for

2548-756: The Labor Party could be manoeuvred into bringing down the Reid government, Barton resigned as leader of the opposition, as he was unacceptable to Labour, and William Lyne took his place. He allegedly refused an offer to become Attorney-General again. Barton's Convention colleague, J.T. Walker, wrote at the time, "Barton is not well off financially, and some of his friends (he has many) are trying to help him. They would not be so ready to do so were he to join Lyne". He resigned from Parliament in February 1900 so that he could travel to London with Alfred Deakin and Charles Kingston to explain

2646-724: The Menzies government . The occasion of the first federal Budget saw the Protectionist supporters of the Barton government clash with the Free Trade Opposition led by George Reid . The Customs Tariff Act took some five months to debate, until finally receiving Royal Assent in September 1902. In the end it was less protectionist than the standard set in the new State of Victoria. The new federation had to establish uniform customs duties and end

2744-632: The New South Wales Legislative Assembly in the poll of the graduates of the University of Sydney (who were required to wear gowns for the occasion), but was beaten by William Charles Windeyer 49 votes to 43. When Windeyer resigned, Barton won the 1879 by-election . When it was abolished in 1880, he became the member for Wellington , from November 1880 to 1882, and East Sydney , from November 1882 to January 1887. At this stage he considered it "almost unnecessary" to point out his support for free trade. In 1882, he became Speaker of

2842-569: The official opposition with 26 MPs. The situation in the Senate was similarly complicated, with the government's position even less secure. However, party discipline was virtually non-existent and Barton was widely seen as having won a mandate to govern. Barton outlined his platform for the first federal election at a speech on 17 January 1901, delivered at the West Maitland Town Hall within his prospective electorate. His plans included

2940-605: The ALP a chance to form government in April 1904, but it was short-lived and George Reid succeeded Watson as prime minister in August. Later in the year, the court came into conflict with Josiah Symon , Reid's appointee as attorney-general. Symon objected to the judges hearing cases in each of the state capitals, believing the court should sit only in Melbourne and Sydney , and also thought their travelling expenses were excessive. Relations between

3038-539: The Australian colonies and the United Kingdom (under which Australia funded Royal Navy protection from foreign naval threats) by an agreement between the Commonwealth and the United Kingdom at the 1902 Colonial Conference . Deakin disliked this arrangement and discontinued it, moving for a substantial expansion of Australia's own navy in 1908. On their way home from the United Kingdom, Barton and Forrest visited Canada, including Toronto, Ottawa (where they were guests of

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3136-524: The Colonial Secretary in Britain made it clear that a race based immigration policy would run "contrary to the general conceptions of equality which have ever been the guiding principle of British rule throughout the Empire", so the Barton government conceived of the "language dictation test", which would allow the government, at the discretion of the minister, to block unwanted migrants by forcing them to sit

3234-488: The Conference and Barton, and the Conference formally declined to express thanks to Barton's Australasian Federation League. The two key figures in the Conference proved to be Sir John Quick and Robert Garran , who devised, on-the-spot, a scheme to convene an Australia-wide convention, composed of directly elected delegates, tasked to draft a federal constitution, which would then be put to voters by referendum. Their scheme

3332-518: The Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V) to preside over the opening of the first Parliament of Australia . The ceremony took place with much British pomp and circumstance in Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building on 9 May 1901 and Parliament was to sit at Victoria's Parliament House, Melbourne for some 26 years, while a suitable site for a federal capital was established. While much of its business

3430-611: The Governor-General), and the Pacific Coast. On 24 September 1903, Barton resigned as prime minister to become one of the founding justices of the High Court of Australia. Speculation about his political future had been rife for several months, particularly after the Judiciary Act 1903 was passed in August. There were several factors at play in his decision to retire from politics. Some within his own party thought that he lacked

3528-652: The House. In December, he and Richard O'Connor , the Minister for Justice , were questioned about their agreement to act as private lawyers against the government in Proudfoot v. the Railway Commissioners . While Barton resigned the brief, he lost a motion on the right of ministers to act in their professional capacity as lawyers in actions against the government, and immediately resigned as Attorney-General. In July 1894 , Barton stood for re-election for Randwick , since

3626-798: The Japanese government conferred the Grand Cordon, Order of the Rising Sun , and Barton was granted permission to retain and wear the insignia. The honour was presented in acknowledgement of his personal role in resolving a conflict concerning the Commonwealth's Pacific Island Labourers Act and the Queensland protocol to the Anglo-Japanese Treaty . In 1951 and again in 1969, Barton was honoured on postage stamps bearing his portrait issued by Australia Post . The Barton Highway near Canberra , Australia

3724-426: The Labor Party, on 16 seats, with the balance of power. Labor confirmed "support in return for concessions" and backed Barton, who became prime minister in a minority government . The 36 seat Senate meanwhile held just 14 Senators declaring themselves in support of the Barton government. The first Parliament was opened on 9 May 1901. Shortly before her death in January 1901, Queen Victoria had designated her grandson,

3822-799: The New South Wales Legislative Assembly . He was aged only 33, and was the youngest person to have been chosen presiding officer of any Australian legislative chamber. In 1884 he was elected President of the University of Sydney Union . In 1887, he was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council at the instigation of Sir Henry Parkes . In January 1889, he agreed to being appointed Attorney General of New South Wales in George Dibbs 's Protectionist government, despite his previous support for free trade. This government lasted only until March, when Parkes formed

3920-680: The Order of Saint Michael and St George (KGCMG). He also secured support for an expanded British naval squadron at Sydney which would assist with training a local force and lobbied for preferential treatment for Australian trade within the British Empire . Barton received congratulations from the Pope on the tolerance shown to Catholics within Australia, and Barton in return offered assurances that this would continue. The exchange prompted "strenuous disapproval" in

4018-471: The Pacific Islands. In April 1901, Barton announced that the government would sponsor a competition to design a new national flag for Australia. The winning design was the basis for the current Australian national flag, although Barton personally favoured the existing Australian Federation Flag that had been popular in New South Wales for many years. As it was primarily intended to be used in shipping,

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4116-430: The Premier of Tasmania. A reshuffle was necessitated by the death of Dickson on 10 January, with James Drake joining Cabinet as Postmaster-General, and Forrest shifting to Defence. Following the first election, Philip Fysh of Tasmania replaced Elliott Lewis as Minister without Portfolio. Lewis had decided not to be a candidate for federal parliament, and he and Sir James Dickson remain the only people to have served in

4214-630: The Privy Council in Webb v Outtrim (1906). Barton was angered by the Privy Council's intervention, having always believed the High Court should be the final court of appeal. In personal correspondence he described the 83-year-old presiding judge Lord Halsbury as an "old pig" who did not understand the needs of a federation. Sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns , Barton was the sole judge in Blundell v Vardon (1907), where he ruled that Joseph Vardon 's election to

4312-622: The Protectionists won the most seats, but were well short of a majority. He was able to remain as prime minister by forming an alliance with the fledgling Australian Labor Party (ALP), which held the balance of power. The Barton government established a number of new national institutions, including the Australian Defence Force and the Commonwealth Public Service . It introduced nation-wide women's suffrage , and laid

4410-653: The Senate was void due to electoral irregularities. He joined with Griffith and O'Connor in the majority opinion in R v Barger (1908), "the High Court's most decisive intervention to date in thwarting social reforms passed by the Commonwealth parliament". In a series of cases around the same time, the trio also restricted the powers of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration . Barton and Griffith split notably in New South Wales v Commonwealth (1915), with

4508-555: The absence of strong party affiliations outside the Australian Labor Party (which was divided on the question), candidates tended to be defined in relation to their attitude to trade, and while Barton sought compromise, the Free Trader George Reid pushed for the question to be a central election issue. Meanwhile, the candidates generally agreed on the need to establish a restrictive immigration system (recalled as

4606-546: The colonies. It finalised its draft constitution in March 1898 and Barton went back to New South Wales to lead the campaign for a yes vote in the June referendum . Although it gained majority support, it achieved only 71,595; 80,000 was the minimum number for it to pass. In July 1898 Barton resigned from the Upper House to challenge Reid for the seat of Sydney-King in the 1898 general election , but narrowly lost. In September, he won

4704-418: The composition of Australia's first cabinet was not formally announced until 30 December, two days before it was sworn in. Barton assembled a ministry that was described variously as a "cabinet of kings", "orchestra of conductors", and "army of generals". It comprised four incumbent colonial premiers (including Lyne), two former premiers, and Barton's key allies Alfred Deakin and Richard O'Connor . Deakin

4802-578: The court for the first time, as the new judges were political radicals and had not been involved in drafting the constitution. Barton and Griffith formed a conservative bloc, almost always joined by O'Connor. Barton did not dissent from Griffith in the first eight years of the court's existence. In the 44 cases heard by the court from 1904 to 1905 he delivered only 12 separate judgments, choosing to join Griffith's opinion in every other case. Some writers have taken this as indicative of laziness or reluctance to lead

4900-522: The court voting 4–2 to strip the Inter-State Commission of any judicial power, much to Barton's dismay. Only Gavan Duffy sided with his argument that parliament should determine the commission's powers rather than the court. The decision was "a rebuff to Barton's authority as an interpreter of the Constitution and his special authority as one of its draftsman". During World War I, Barton joined

4998-560: The court. In D'Emden v Pedder (1904), the High Court formulated a doctrine of implied immunity of instrumentalities , modelled closely on the American concept of intergovernmental immunity which Barton and the other authors of the constitution had closely studied. The court followed this precedent in Deakin v Webb (1904), which was subsequently overturned by the Judicial Committee of

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5096-421: The court. However, others have suggested that his lack of separate judgments was not representative of his work ethic and reflected more a general dislike of concurring opinions as liable to complicate the interpretation of rulings. Barton was acting chief justice for nine months in 1913, while Griffith was overseas. The same year saw a major shift in the composition of the court, with two new seats created and

5194-595: The design had to be submitted to the British Admiralty for approval and was not officially adopted until 1903. An early piece of legislation of the Barton government was the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 , which put the White Australia policy into law. The Labour Party required legislation to limit immigration from Asia as part of its agreement to support the government, but Barton had promised

5292-574: The drafting of the constitution. As a result, Barton and Griffith increasingly found themselves in a minority on constitutional matters, seeking to preserve the intentions of the framers rather than allow the constitution to evolve. The new judges were also less familiar with the North American federal precedents that the original judges had often relied upon. The influx of new voices contributed to Barton's movement away from Griffith, as he showed "a return of energy and initiative [...] greater independence and at times disagreement" than in his earliest years on

5390-403: The electorate of East Sydney had been abolished, and lost. He did not stand for election in the 1895 election , very possibly because of financial difficulties. However, he continued to campaign for federation and during the period between January 1893 to February 1897, Barton addressed nearly 300 meetings in New South Wales, including in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield where he declared that "For

5488-407: The energy and commitment to continue as the leader of the government. Barton had also suffered from bouts of ill health, including a fainting spell in his office earlier in the year. He was advised by his doctor to quit active politics. Finally, he had a history of financial difficulties and appreciated the security that a lifetime appointment would bring. The appointment of the new judges was made by

5586-429: The establishment of the federal capital, the High Court and the Inter-State Commission , and a "moderately protectionist tariff" in order to raise the revenue to introduce old-age pensions and a uniform postal system. He also promised to introduce universal suffrage for federal elections, build the Trans-Australian Railway , legislate to allow federal intervention in industrial disputes, and ban immigration from Asia and

5684-509: The federation bill to the Government of the United Kingdom . Around the same time on 15 January 1900 Barton published a 28-page United Australia magazine to disseminate an informative narrative for the propositions of a future Federal Government that he hoped to lead. The British Government was adamant in its opposition to the abolition of appeals to the Privy Council as incorporated in the draft constitution; eventually, Barton agreed that constitutional ( inter se ) matters would be finalised in

5782-402: The first Australian Natives' Association branch in New South Wales. Barton favoured the creation Federation leagues in such border districts, and the first of these were founded in Corowa and Albury. The idea was then picked up in other Murray River towns. They eventually all banded together and formed the Border Federation League . Several months later William Drummond of the Berrigan 'everyone

5880-492: The first parliament was from May 1901 to October 1902. It enacted 59 acts, and, in accordance with the provisions of the new Constitution, established the legal, financial and administrative foundations of the Commonwealth. The new Parliament quickly moved to restrict immigration to maintain Australia's "British character", and the Pacific Island Labourers Bill and the Immigration Restriction Bill were passed shortly before parliament rose for its first Christmas recess. Nevertheless,

5978-413: The first time in history, we have a nation for a continent and a continent for a nation". By March 1897, he was considered "the acknowledged leader of the federal movement in all Australia". In 1897, Barton topped the poll of the delegates elected from New South Wales to the Constitutional Convention , which developed a constitution for the proposed federation. Although Sir Samuel Griffith wrote most of

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6076-403: The form of a petition from some thousands of Australian Protestants. Towards the end of his term in office, Britain and Japan concluded the Anglo–Japanese naval agreement , for which Barton managed to secure the approval of the Australian Parliament and the gratitude of Japan in the form of the Order of the Rising Sun First Class . According to political historian Brian Carroll, Barton faced

6174-452: The foundation of a bicameral Australian Parliament , was endorsed by the Imperial Parliament in Britain and signed into law by Queen Victoria . Lord Hopetoun , a Lord-in-waiting to Queen Victoria and a former Governor of the Colony of Victoria , was selected as Australia's first Governor-General , and the appointment of the first Cabinet was put in train. Edmund Barton became the newly Federated Australian nation's first prime minister at

6272-463: The foundations of the White Australia policy with the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 . Barton left politics in 1903 to become one of the three founding members of the High Court, which his government had created. He was succeeded as prime minister by Alfred Deakin . On the court, Barton was able to shape the judicial interpretation of the constitution he had helped write. Barton was born on 18 January 1849 in Glebe, Sydney, New South Wales . He

6370-425: The government and the court became so strained that the judges contemplated refusing to hear cases, and Barton seriously considered resigning. The situation was only resolved in June 1905 when Deakin returned as prime minister. The Deakin government added two extra judges to the High Court in 1906, appointing former attorneys-general H. B. Higgins and Isaac Isaacs . Their elevation brought an adversarial aspect to

6468-485: The government won 32 out of the 75 seats in the Australian House of Representatives , with their grouping calling itself the Protectionist Party (or Liberal Protectionists). Barton himself was elected unopposed in the Division of Hunter , having previously represented the area in the New South Wales parliament. The government's continuation was secured by the support of the newly formed Australian Labor Party (ALP), which had 17 MPs. Reid and his Free Trade Party formed

6566-484: The governor-general on the advice of cabinet, many of whom had ambitions of their own and encouraged Barton to accept the post. His appointment was largely uncontroversial, given his role in drafting the constitution, experience as a barrister, and acceptance of a puisne judgeship rather than the position of chief justice . Barton was sworn in to the High Court on 7 October 1903, along with his close friends Samuel Griffith and Richard Edward O'Connor ; Griffith became

6664-407: The great commonwealth of the United States. The numbers were about the same, and surely what the Americans had done by war, the Australians could bring about in peace, without breaking the ties that held them to the mother country. Known himself as the "Father of Federation", Parkes would die before the project was completed. Shortly before his death in 1896, Parkes called on Edmund Barton to take up

6762-431: The inaugural Chief Justice of Australia . The new justices had worked together in drafting the constitution and habitually lunched together. As a result of their closeness and the small number of cases heard, there were few dissents in the early years of the court. Deakin succeeded Barton as prime minister, but the government performed poorly at the December 1903 election . The hung parliament allowed Chris Watson and

6860-476: The inner city, living on Cumberland Street in The Rocks . He had a relatively comfortable upbringing, although his father faced financial difficulties on a number of occasions. To support the family during those periods, his mother ran a boarding school for girls. His parents were both highly literate, and his mother in particular "provided much of the direction and encouragement for Edmund's impressive academic achievement". Barton began his formal education at what

6958-453: The introduction of the White Australia Policy in his election campaign. Barton stated, "The doctrine of the equality of man was never intended to apply to the equality of the Englishman and the Chinaman". One notable reform was the introduction of women's suffrage for federal elections in 1902. Barton was a moderate conservative, and advanced liberals in his party disliked his relaxed attitude to political life. A large, handsome, jovial man, he

7056-580: The lower house but also the upper house should be representative and that appeals to the Privy Council should be abolished. He also took part in producing a draft constitution, which was substantially similar to the Constitution of Australia enacted in 1900. Nevertheless, the protectionists were lukewarm supporters of federation and in June 1891, Barton resigned from the Council and stood for election to East Sydney and announced that "so long as Protection meant

7154-475: The majority in Farey v Burvett (1915), which saw the court adopt a broad view of the federal government's defence power . In Duncan v Queensland (1916), he and Isaacs were the only dissenters from the court's interpretation of section 92 of the constitution. With Griffith authoring the majority opinion, the court held that state governments could circumvent the constitution's free-trade provisions simply by banning

7252-471: The movement of goods across state boundaries. Barton expressed a "heavy sorrow" at the court's decision and Isaacs was highly critical. In 1920, after Barton's death, Isaacs led the court in reversing Duncan , in what became known as the Engineers' case . Along with Griffith, Barton was several times consulted by Governors-General of Australia on the exercise of the reserve powers . In 1919, although ill, he

7350-507: The new government was held at the purpose-built Federation Pavilion . The main focus was on Lord Hopetoun , Australia's first governor-general , who swore three separate oaths and read a message from Queen Victoria . Barton and his ministry only took oaths of allegiance, and were not formally sworn in to the Federal Executive Council until later in the afternoon. The events of the day were captured on film and distributed under

7448-402: The office of Attorney General, with the right of carrying out private practice as a lawyer. His agreement was based on Dibbs agreeing to support federal resolutions in the coming parliamentary session. His attempt to draft the federal resolutions was delayed by a period as acting Premier of New South Wales , during which he had to deal with the 1892 Broken Hill miners' strike and the carriage of

7546-673: The proposals of the Pacific Islanders Bill to exclude "Kanaka" labourers, however Barton argued that the practice was "veiled slavery" that could lead to a "negro problem" similar to that in the United States and the Bill was passed. The restrictive measures established by the first parliament gave way to multi-ethnic immigration policies only after the Second World War , with the "dictation test" itself being finally abolished in 1958 by

7644-477: The struggle of leading the push for Federation. Barton in turn announced: There is one great thing which above all activates me in my political life, and will activate me until it is accomplished, and that is the question of the union of the Australian colonies. After a series of constitutional conventions and referendums, the colonies agreed to federate as a new "commonwealth": the Commonwealth of Australia . The Constitution of Australia , with its provision for

7742-414: The subsequent public controversy, George Reid censured Coulthard and absolved the crowd, while Barton defended Coulthard and did not spare the crowd. The publicity that attended the young Barton's presence of mind in defusing that situation reputedly helped him take his first step towards becoming Australia's first prime minister, winning a state lower house seat later that year. In 1876 Barton stood for

7840-603: The text of the Constitution, Barton was the political leader who carried it through the Convention. In May 1897, Barton was appointed for the second time to the Legislative Council on Reid's recommendations to take charge of the federation bill in the Upper House. This gave Reid's Attorney-General, Jack Want , a free hand to oppose the bill. In September 1897, the convention met in Sydney to consider 286 proposed amendments from

7938-480: The three founding judges of the High Court of Australia . The background to the Barton government saw the six British colonies of Australia vote to federate as one Commonwealth. Sir Henry Parkes was among the leading voices calling for Federation and had kick-started the movement with his Tenterfield Oration of 1889: Australia [now has] a population of three and a half millions, and the American people numbered only between three and four millions when they formed

8036-425: The title Inauguration of the Commonwealth , although the visibility of the leading participants is poor. The film has been described as Australia's first feature-length documentary. Barton had only been commissioned to form a government one week before he became prime minister, due to what became known as the " Hopetoun Blunder ". The new governor-general Lord Hopetoun arrived in Australia on 15 December 1900. He

8134-814: The trade barriers which had existed between the colonies. Barton travelled to Britain for the Coronation of King Edward VII and the Colonial Conference of 1902 where he came up against the push for "free trade within the Empire". In 1902, a historic law granting women's suffrage throughout the Commonwealth was enacted entitled the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 . Prior to Federation, women had already gained these rights in South Australia and Western Australia. Prior to Federation, Britain's Australian colonies had dispatched forces to assist Britain in

8232-488: Was Minister for Defence, and Sir William Lyne was Minister for Home Affairs. Other than Barton, Alfred Deakin was the only other member of the original Cabinet who had not served as a premier but, like Barton, he had been a strong advocate for Federation. Barton appointed two other honorary Cabinet positions: Richard O'Connor of New South Wales, to serve as Vice-President of the Executive Council, and Elliott Lewis ,

8330-593: Was a "profound influence". Barton won scholarships in his second and third years. He graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1868 with first-class honours, and was awarded the equivalent of the University Medal as well as a prize of £20. He proceeded to Master of Arts by examination in 1870. Barton was a member of the Sydney University Cricket Club and a founding member of the Sydney Rowing Club . On

8428-569: Was an Australian statesman, barrister and jurist who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903. He held office as the leader of the Protectionist Party , before resigning in 1903 to become a founding member of the High Court of Australia , on which he served until his death. Barton was highly regarded as one of the founding fathers and leaders of the Federation movement , and for his work in drafting and later interpreting

8526-556: Was awarded a special prize by the university senate. Barton failed to win one of the three entrance scholarships to the University, owing to "an insufficiency of mathematics". At university, Barton specialised in classics but also studied English literature, mathematics, physics, and French. He became fluent in Ancient Greek and Latin, and retained a command of both later in life. A new professor, Charles Badham , arrived in 1867 and

8624-618: Was centred on establishing the machinery of government, among the most significant legislation passed by the first Parliament were immigration restrictions and tariff protections. The Duke of York toured Australia and opened the first Parliament in 1901. After an expenses dispute, Parliament refused to augment the income received by the Governor-General with an additional annual allowance, and Lord Hopetoun resigned, sailing for Britain in July 1902. South Australia's Governor, Lord Tennyson , became Australia's second Governor-General. The term of

8722-796: Was extremely disappointed to be passed over for the position of Chief Justice on the retirement of Griffith. Barton died on 7 January 1920 from heart failure at the Hydro Majestic Hotel , Medlow Bath, New South Wales . He was interred in South Head General Cemetery in the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse (see Waverley Cemetery ). He was survived by his wife and six children: Barton's nephews via his older sister Harriet included Victorian federal MP Arthur Robinson and businessmen Lionel and William Sydney Robinson . Barton refused knighthoods in 1887, 1891 and 1899, but agreed to be appointed

8820-471: Was fond of long dinners and good wine, and was given the nickname "Toby Tosspot" by The Bulletin . For much of 1902, Barton was in England for the coronation of King Edward VII , which was postponed from June to August, delaying Barton's return. Accompanying him on this trip was Sir John Forrest , Minister for Defence , and the trip was also used to negotiate the replacement of the naval agreements between

8918-495: Was initially given little attention, and Barton's Australasian Federation League publicly rejected it. But it was later to prove extremely influential, and was adopted in 1897-8, with barely any modification, by all six colonies. Edmund Barton Prime Minister of Australia Term of government (1901–1903) Justice of the High Court of Australia (1903–1920) Defunct Defunct Sir Edmund " Toby " Barton (18 January 1849 – 7 January 1920)

9016-439: Was named after Barton. The Division of Barton in New South Wales is named after him, as is Barton, Australian Capital Territory , a suburb of Canberra close to Capital Hill which is the location of many government departments and national institutions, and the headquarters of Australia's main political parties. The Edmund Barton Building is a government office building in that suburb. The Barton College of Deakin University

9114-458: Was originally from Devon . They arrived in the Colony of New South Wales in 1827, and all but two of their children were born in Australia. William Barton worked variously as an accountant, bazaar proprietor, stockbroker, and real estate agent. His business ventures were not always successful, and he went bankrupt on one occasion. Barton spent his early years in Glebe, but in 1851 the family moved into

9212-592: Was ranked second in cabinet after Barton, and O'Connor would become the inaugural Leader of the Government in the Senate . Only one change was made to the ministry prior to the election, necessitated by the death of James Dickson on 10 January. Barton took on the external affairs portfolio himself and conducted official business through the Department of External Affairs , as there was no prime minister's department until 1911. The first goal for Barton and his ministry

9310-490: Was tasked by the Colonial Office with selecting someone to form a caretaker government prior to the first federal election; this individual would be Australia's first prime minister. It was widely assumed that Barton would be offered the position, and he had begun making preparations for the role, including a draft platform for the first federal elections. On 19 December, however, Hopetoun commissioned William Lyne to form

9408-402: Was temporary, to organise the first general election. Barton was sworn in as prime minister and Minister for External Affairs and his Cabinet consisted of a number of ex-premiers: Sir George Turner of Victoria was Treasurer, Charles Kingston of South Australia was Minister for Trade and Customs, Sir John Forrest of Western Australia was Postmaster-General, Sir James Dickson of Queensland

9506-495: Was the eleventh of twelve children born to Mary Louisa (née Whydah) and William Barton. He had seven sisters and four brothers, including the writer George Burnett Barton . Three of his siblings died during his childhood. His given name had not previously been used in the family, and may have been in honour of the recently deceased explorer Edmund Kennedy . Barton's parents were both born in London, England, although his father's family

9604-405: Was to retain office at the first federal elections , which were held in late March 1901. His old rival George Reid became the chief opponent of the government during the campaign and the de facto opposition leader . There were no national political parties in 1901, but most candidates self-declared as either protectionists or free-traders, following the primary divide in colonial politics. Reid,

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