George Maxwell (Australian politician)
Encyclopedia
George Arnot Maxwell was a barrister and Australia
n politician.
Maxwell was born in Montrose
, Forfarshire, Scotland
and educated in Fife
. He migrated to Australia with his family in 1875. He worked briefly as a jackeroo and then completed his matriculation in Melbourne
. He subsequently taught at Melbourne schools, including Caulfield Grammar School
, while studying arts and law at the University of Melbourne
. He was admitted to the Bar in 1891 and became a successful at criminal law and was appointed King's Counsel in 1926. He married Jean Russell Ross in 1896—they had four daughters and one son.
Maxwell ran unsuccessfully for various Victorian Legislative Assembly
seats: Collingwood in 1891; Prahran
in 1897; Warrnambool
in 1900; Carlton in 1902 and Evelyn
in 1914. However, he won the Labor
-held Australian House of Representatives
seat of Fawkner
for the Nationalists
at the 1917 election
. In parliament, he disliked what he saw as the sectionalism of the Country
and Labor parties and, following his conscience, he voted against the Bruce
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government on a number of issues in 1929. He was one of six Nationalists, including Billy Hughes
who brought the government down by voting against the maritime industries bill and as a result was unopposed by Labor at the 1929 election
. He joined Hughes's Australian Party
, but resigned in May 1930 and sat as an Independent until he joined the United Australia Party
in 1931.
Maxwell lost sight in one eye in 1920 and most of the sight in the other in 1921, becoming totally blind in 1929. Following his death at home in the Melbourne suburb of Canterbury
, Fawkener was won by future Prime Minister
Harold Holt
.
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.
Maxwell was born in Montrose
Montrose, Angus
Montrose is a coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. It is situated 38 miles north of Dundee between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers...
, Forfarshire, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and educated in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
. He migrated to Australia with his family in 1875. He worked briefly as a jackeroo and then completed his matriculation 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...
. He subsequently taught at Melbourne schools, including Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, Anglican, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield began admitting girls exactly one hundred years later...
, while studying arts and 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...
. He was admitted to the Bar in 1891 and became a successful at criminal law and was appointed King's Counsel in 1926. He married Jean Russell Ross in 1896—they had four daughters and one son.
Maxwell ran unsuccessfully for various Victorian Legislative Assembly
Victorian 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:...
seats: Collingwood in 1891; Prahran
Electoral district of Prahran
Prahran is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. It is a 12km² electorate in the inner south-east of Melbourne, taking in the suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor, as well as parts of Balaclava, St Kilda, St Kilda East and Toorak...
in 1897; Warrnambool
Electoral district of Warrnambool
The Electoral district of Warrnambool was an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.-Members for Warrnambool:-See also:*Parliaments of the Australian states and territories*List of members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly...
in 1900; Carlton in 1902 and Evelyn
Electoral district of Evelyn
The Electoral district of Evelyn is an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Assembly covering the urban fringe north east of Melbourne. It was first proclaimed in 1859.The seat has shrunk considerably in size as the eastern suburbs of Melbourne grew...
in 1914. However, he won the 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...
-held 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....
seat of Fawkner
Division of Fawkner
The Division of Fawkner was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1906 , and was abolished itself in 1969. It was named for John Pascoe Fawkner, one of the founders of Melbourne. It was located in the inner southern suburbs of Melbourne, including at various...
for the Nationalists
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...
at the 1917 election
Australian federal election, 1917
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 May 1917. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
. In parliament, he disliked what he saw as the sectionalism of the Country
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
and Labor parties and, following his conscience, he voted against the Bruce
Stanley Bruce
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created...
-Page
Earle Page
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, GCMG, CH was the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, and is to date the second-longest serving federal parliamentarian in Australian history, with 41 years, 361 days in Parliament.-Early life:...
government on a number of issues in 1929. He was one of six Nationalists, including Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
who brought the government down by voting against the maritime industries bill and as a result was unopposed by Labor at the 1929 election
Australian federal election, 1929
Federal elections were held in Australia on 12 October 1929. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, with no Senate seats up for election, as a result of Billy Hughes and other rebel backbenchers crossing the floor over industrial relations legislation, depriving the...
. He joined Hughes's Australian Party
Australian Party
The Australian Party can refer to a number of political parties in Australia's history, most recently to the party started by Queensland independent MP Bob Katter known as Katter's Australian Party...
, but resigned in May 1930 and sat as an Independent until he joined the United Australia Party
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
in 1931.
Maxwell lost sight in one eye in 1920 and most of the sight in the other in 1921, becoming totally blind in 1929. Following his death at home in the Melbourne suburb of Canterbury
Canterbury, Victoria
Canterbury is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara...
, Fawkener was won by future Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
.