Charles Merrett
Encyclopedia
Colonel
Sir Charles Edward Merrett CBE
(8 January 1863 – 11 November 1948) was an Australian merchant, agriculturist and political activist.
Merrett was born at South Yarra in Melbourne
to civil servant Samuel Headen Merrett and Sarah Ashton, née Baxter. His father died in 1878 and Charles, despite being a graduate from Melbourne Grammar School
, was unable to attend university and instead became an office-boy at a merchants' and manufacturer's representation firm in 1880. By 1890 he had risen to become a partner in the business; he would eventually be managing director in 1916. He married Annie Florence Slocombe on 21 April 1891. He joined the St Kilda Rifles in 1880 and transferred to the Victorian Mounted Rifles in 1883, holding the posts of lieutenant
and quartermaster
(1889) and captain (1892). He later transferred to the Australian Light Horse and was promoted major in 1905; in 1915 he became lieutenant-colonel of the 5th Light Horse Brigade and the oldest serving officer in the Light Horse. Despite his wishes he remained in Australia during World War I
and retired from the armed services in 1920 as a colonel
.
In 1915 Merrett was appointed president of the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria; he would serve a record term of 32 years, retiring in 1947. He was involved in founding the Young Farmers and the Country Women's Association
. He was also politically involved, and in 1913 ran for the federal seat of Melbourne Ports
for the Liberal Party
. His later career tended towards organisational politics but he became disenchanted with the Nationalist Party
and instead he and Thomas Ashworth
founded the Liberal Union
, a breakaway group opposed to Billy Hughes
' leadership. Although the Union only operated as a political entity at the 1922 election
, when it elected two candidates to the House of Representatives
, it continued to endorse Nationalist candidates throughout the 1920s. He would later be involved in the downfall of the Allan
-Peacock
state government in 1927, forming the short-lived Australian Liberal Party.
Merrett served on South Melbourne
Council from 1915 to 1937 and was mayor from 1922 to 1923. He was also the chairman of a number of organisations, including the Canned Fruits Export Control Board, the Big Brother Movement, the New Settlers League, the State Employment Council and the Society for the Protection of Animals. In 1929 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and he was knighted in 1934. He died at Brighton
in 1948.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Sir Charles Edward Merrett CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(8 January 1863 – 11 November 1948) was an Australian merchant, agriculturist and political activist.
Merrett was born at South Yarra 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...
to civil servant Samuel Headen Merrett and Sarah Ashton, née Baxter. His father died in 1878 and Charles, despite being a graduate from Melbourne Grammar School
Melbourne Grammar School
Melbourne Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in South Yarra and Caulfield, suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, was unable to attend university and instead became an office-boy at a merchants' and manufacturer's representation firm in 1880. By 1890 he had risen to become a partner in the business; he would eventually be managing director in 1916. He married Annie Florence Slocombe on 21 April 1891. He joined the St Kilda Rifles in 1880 and transferred to the Victorian Mounted Rifles in 1883, holding the posts of lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
and quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
(1889) and captain (1892). He later transferred to the Australian Light Horse and was promoted major in 1905; in 1915 he became lieutenant-colonel of the 5th Light Horse Brigade and the oldest serving officer in the Light Horse. Despite his wishes he remained in Australia during 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...
and retired from the armed services in 1920 as a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
.
In 1915 Merrett was appointed president of the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria; he would serve a record term of 32 years, retiring in 1947. He was involved in founding the Young Farmers and the Country Women's Association
Country Women's Association
The Country Women’s Association of Australia is the largest women's organisation in Australia. It has 44,000 members across 1855 branches. Its aims are to improve the conditions for country women and children and to try to make life better for women and their families, especially those women...
. He was also politically involved, and in 1913 ran for the federal seat of Melbourne Ports
Division of Melbourne Ports
The Division of Melbourne Ports is an Australian federal electoral division in the inner south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
for the Liberal Party
Commonwealth Liberal Party
The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....
. His later career tended towards organisational politics but he became disenchanted with the Nationalist Party
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...
and instead he and Thomas Ashworth
Thomas Ashworth
Thomas Ramsden Ashworth was an Australian politician.Born in Richmond to medical practitioner Thomas Ramsden Ashworth and Mary Jane Leeson, his family moved to Bombala in New South Wales when he was a child but returned to Melbourne after his father's death in 1876...
founded the Liberal Union
Liberal Party (1922)
The Liberal Party, also known as the Liberal Union or the Liberal Union Party, was a short-lived political party in Australia that operated mainly in 1922. The party was formed by disaffected Nationalists, principally Thomas Ashworth and Charles Merrett, who opposed the leadership of Prime...
, a breakaway group opposed to Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
' leadership. Although the Union only operated as a political entity 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...
, when it elected two candidates to 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....
, it continued to endorse Nationalist candidates throughout the 1920s. He would later be involved in the downfall of the Allan
John Allan (Australian politician)
John Allan , Australian politician, was the 29th Premier of Victoria. He was born near Lancefield, where his father was a farmer of Scottish origin, and educated at state schools. He took up wheat and dairy farming at Wyuna and was director of a butter factory at Kyabram...
-Peacock
Alexander Peacock
Sir Alexander James Peacock, KCMG , Australian politician, was the 20th Premier of Victoria.Peacock was born of Scottish descent at Creswick, the first Victorian Premier born after the gold rush of the 1850s and the attainment of self-government in Victoria. He was distantly related to the family...
state government in 1927, forming the short-lived Australian Liberal Party.
Merrett served on South Melbourne
City of South Melbourne
The City of South Melbourne was a Local Government Area located about south of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, on the south bank of the Yarra River...
Council from 1915 to 1937 and was mayor from 1922 to 1923. He was also the chairman of a number of organisations, including the Canned Fruits Export Control Board, the Big Brother Movement, the New Settlers League, the State Employment Council and the Society for the Protection of Animals. In 1929 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and he was knighted in 1934. He died at Brighton
Brighton, Victoria
Brighton is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Brighton had a population of 20,651...
in 1948.