.gif)
George Fuller (Australian politician)
Encyclopedia
Sir George Warburton Fuller KCMG
(22 January 1861 – 22 July 1940) was Premier of New South Wales
, Australia
on two occasions during the 1920s. His first term of office lasted less than one day (20 December 1921); his second lasted from 13 April 1922 to 17 June 1925.
, New South Wales
and was educated at Kiama Public School, Sydney Grammar School
and at St Andrew's College
at the University of Sydney
. He received a Bachelor of Arts
(Hons) in 1879, and a Master of Arts
in 1882 from the University of Sydney
. He studied law under Sir William Patrick Manning
(eminent judge and university chancellor
) and became a barrister
in 1884.
for over 18 years. Initially he represented Kiama
from 1889 to 1894, but was defeated in 1894 and again in 1898.
Fuller was the first member for Illawarra
in the new Australian House of Representatives
between 1901 and 1913. He was Minister for Home Affairs
in 1909 and 1910 in Alfred Deakin
's Commonwealth Liberal Party
government and was responsible for making Canberra
the national capital. In 1911 he was an Australian representative at the coronation of George V
.
for the Liberal Party and, from 1916, the Nationalist Party
. In part of 1916 and 1917 he was leader of New South Wales' Nationalist Party and he became Colonial Secretary (the second most important cabinet position) in 1916. In 1917 his heavy-handed handling of a strike by rail and tramway workers against the introduction of time cards
antagonised the unions and led to a general strike
. His promise of higher pay and improved seniority benefits to workers returning to work split the rail unions for most of the twentieth century and the different employment conditions lasted until the Lang Government
was elected. His action were seen by supporters as the decisive leadership required in wartime
. In 1919, he expanded the state-owned fishing trawler fleet "to provide cheap fish for the mass of the population". On 3 June 1919 he was appointed as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
for his service as Colonial Secretary.Citation: Colonial Secretary of New South Wales
Labor
won the 1920 election and Fuller became Leader of the Opposition
. In 1921 he took advantage of the death of John Storey
to defeat James Dooley
's Government on a motion of no confidence
and as a result was asked to form a government. But Fuller himself had to give up the Premiership after only seven hours, after losing another motion of no confidence and Dooley returned to office. In the 1922 state election, Dooley was defeated and Fuller became Premier once again. His government began the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
. This time his tenure lasted till the 1925 state election, won by Labor's Jack Lang
.
Shortly after Lang's victory, Fuller resigned from the Nationalist leadership in favour of Thomas Bavin. From 1928 to 1931 he was the state's Agent-General in London
. He died in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst
.
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....
(22 January 1861 – 22 July 1940) was Premier of New South Wales
Premiers of New South Wales
The Premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature...
, 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...
on two occasions during the 1920s. His first term of office lasted less than one day (20 December 1921); his second lasted from 13 April 1922 to 17 June 1925.
Early life
Fuller was born in KiamaKiama, New South Wales
-Transport:The town is served by Kiama Station on the South Coast Line. It is served by road in the form of the Princes Highway and the Kiama Bypass.-Attractions:...
, 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...
and was educated at Kiama Public School, Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
and at St Andrew's College
St Andrew's College, Sydney
St Andrew's College is a Protestant co-residential college within the University of Sydney, in the suburb of Camperdown.-History:St Andrew's College was incorporated by Act of Parliament and received Royal Assent from Queen Victoria on 12 December 1867. The St Andrew's College Act 1998 replaced the...
at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. He received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(Hons) in 1879, and a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1882 from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. He studied law under Sir William Patrick Manning
William Patrick Manning
Sir William Patrick Manning was an Australian politician.Born at Darlinghurst to baker John Manning and Margaret Harrocks, he worked as a financier and had extensive business interests. Around 1867 he married Honorah Torpy in Sydney, with whom he had eight children...
(eminent judge and university chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
) and became a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
in 1884.
Political career
Fuller served in the New South Wales Legislative AssemblyNew 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...
for over 18 years. Initially he represented Kiama
Electoral district of Kiama
Kiama is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Gareth Ward of the Liberal Party of Australia. This electorate is named after the Municipality of Kiama in the Illawarra, which is at the centre...
from 1889 to 1894, but was defeated in 1894 and again in 1898.
Fuller was the first member for Illawarra
Division of Illawarra
The Division of Illawarra was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It covered part of the Illawarra region, after which it was named. The Division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 75 divisions to be contested at the first Federal election. It was...
in the new Australian 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....
between 1901 and 1913. He was Minister for Home Affairs
Minister for Home Affairs (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Home Affairs has been Brendan O'Connor since 6 June 2009. The Home Affairs portfolio brings together agencies such as the Australian Customs Service , the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, which were previously the...
in 1909 and 1910 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 Commonwealth Liberal Party
Commonwealth Liberal Party
The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....
government and was responsible for making Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
the national capital. In 1911 he was an Australian representative at the coronation of George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
.
Return to State politics
From 1915 to 1928 Fuller represented WollondillyElectoral district of Wollondilly
Wollondilly is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is currently held by Jai Rowell of the Liberal Party of Australia....
for the Liberal Party and, from 1916, 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...
. In part of 1916 and 1917 he was leader of New South Wales' Nationalist Party and he became Colonial Secretary (the second most important cabinet position) in 1916. In 1917 his heavy-handed handling of a strike by rail and tramway workers against the introduction of time cards
Timesheet
A timesheet is a method for recording the amount of a worker's time spent on each job.-Use:Originally developed for an employer to determine payroll, timesheets are not just for payroll any more. Timesheets may record the start and end time of tasks, or just the duration. It may contain a...
antagonised the unions and led to a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
. His promise of higher pay and improved seniority benefits to workers returning to work split the rail unions for most of the twentieth century and the different employment conditions lasted until the Lang Government
Jack Lang (Australian politician)
John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...
was elected. His action were seen by supporters as the decisive leadership required in wartime
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...
. In 1919, he expanded the state-owned fishing trawler fleet "to provide cheap fish for the mass of the population". On 3 June 1919 he was appointed as a 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....
for his service as Colonial Secretary.Citation: Colonial Secretary of New South Wales
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...
won the 1920 election and Fuller became Leader of the Opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
. In 1921 he took advantage of the death of John Storey
John Storey (politician)
John Storey was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales from 12 April 1920 until his sudden death in Sydney...
to defeat James Dooley
James Dooley (Australian politician)
James Thomas Dooley served twice, briefly, as Premier of New South Wales during the early 1920s.-Early years:...
's Government on a motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
and as a result was asked to form a government. But Fuller himself had to give up the Premiership after only seven hours, after losing another motion of no confidence and Dooley returned to office. In the 1922 state election, Dooley was defeated and Fuller became Premier once again. His government began the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
. This time his tenure lasted till the 1925 state election, won by Labor's Jack Lang
Jack Lang (Australian politician)
John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...
.
Shortly after Lang's victory, Fuller resigned from the Nationalist leadership in favour of Thomas Bavin. From 1928 to 1931 he was the state's Agent-General in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He died in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst
Darlinghurst, New South Wales
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney...
.