Graham Berry
Encyclopedia
Sir Graham Berry KCMG (28 August 1822 – 25 January 1904), Australian colonial
politician, was the 11th Premier of Victoria. He was one of the most Radical
and colourful figures in the politics of colonial Victoria, and made the most determined efforts to break the power of the Victorian Legislative Council
, the stronghold of the landowning class.
, near London
, where his father was a licensed victualler. He had a primary education, then became an apprentice draper
.
, and went into business as a grocer
in Prahran
, then as a general storekeeper in South Yarra
. His business skills and Victoria's booming economy soon made him a wealthy man. In 1848 he married Harriet Blencowe, with whom he had eleven children. After her death he married Rebekah Evans in 1871; the couple had seven children of their own. At his death, Berry was survived by eight of the children from his first marriage and all of the children from his second marriage.
In Victoria, Berry, by voracious reading, acquired the education he had missed in England, and taught himself economics
, literature
and philosophy
. But all his life he retained a broad London
accent, (Cockney
) which many Victorian conservatives found offensive or amusing. In Parliament he once asked the Speaker: "What is now before the 'Ouse?" To which the Leader of the Opposition interjected: "An H!" He developed a powerful rhetorical style modelled on that of his hero Gladstone
, equally effective in the rough-house of the colonial Parliament or on the hustings. The conservative newspaper The Argus
conceded: "His oratory might not be polished: it certainly was not—but it was passionate, and it told." Noted for his humour, Berry was nevertheless a tough and determined politician.
for East Melbourne
at a by-election in 1861, as what The Argus
called "an extreme liberal." At the general election later in the same year he switched to Collingwood
, then famously the most radical electorate in the colony. He was re-elected in 1864, but his criticism of James McCulloch
's government during the tariff crisis of 1865 led to his defeat in that year's snap election.
In 1866 Berry moved to Geelong, where he started a newspaper, the Geelong Register, as a rival to the established Geelong Advertiser
. When this proved unsuccessful, he bought the Advertiser, and made himself editor of the merged paper. Using the paper as a platform, he was elected for West Geelong in 1869. In 1877 he switched to Geelong, which he represented until 1886. He was briefly Treasurer in John MacPherson
's government in 1870. When Charles Gavan Duffy
formed a strong liberal government in June 1871, Berry again became Treasurer. He was a convinced protectionist
, and steered a bill for increased tariff
s through the Parliament.
and Kerferd
governments, Berry assumed leadership of the liberals and became Premier and Treasurer in August 1875. But the liberal majority in the Assembly was unreliable, and in October the government's budget was defeated and Berry resigned. He asked the Governor, Sir George Bowen
, for a dissolution, but was refused. He then campaigned across the colony in opposition to the third McCulloch government.
under David Syme
, he won a huge liberal majority in the Assembly and returned to office at the head of a radical ministry.
Berry's election manifesto proposed a punitive land tax designed to break up the squatter class's great pastoral properties - about 800 men at this time owned most of Victoria's grazing lands. He also advocated a high tariff to foster local manufacturing, which threatened to harm the importing and banking interests. He promised that if the Council, which was elected on a limited property-based franchise, blocked his program, it would be "dealt with according to its deserts." He described the Council as "a chamber which robs the people of the gold in the soil and the land God gave them." Given that there was no mechanism in the Victorian Constitution to override the Council, this was taken by conservatives to be a threat of revolutionary violence.
In fact Berry was a devoted constitutional liberal and had no plans for illegal measures. But the Councillors were sufficiently alarmed to pass a modified version of Berry's land tax bill, despite the urgings of the ultra-conservative former Premier Sir Charles Sladen
to reject it outright. Berry, emboldened, next introduced a bill for the payment of members of the Assembly, which the trade unions were demanding so that working class candidates could be elected. Berry "tacked" the bill to the Appropriations Bill so that Council could not reject it without paralysing the Colony's finances. The Council resented this blackmail and at Sladen's urging rejected the bill.
With the two Houses deadlocked, Berry embarked on a public campaign of "coercion" against the Council. "We coerce madmen," he said, "We put them into lunatic asylums, and never was anything more the act of madmen than the rejection of the Appropriation Bill." To bring matters to a head, on 8 January 1878 ("Black Wednesday") Berry's government began to dismiss public servants, starting with police and judges, arguing that without an Appropriations Bill they could not be paid. Berry next brought in a bill to strip the Council of its powers, which the Council of course rejected.
For the next two years Berry clung to office while the colony was gripped with class conflict, including huge torchlit processions through Melbourne sponsored by The Age (pro-Berry) and The Argus (anti-Berry) - although, remarkably, there was almost no violence. Almost no legislation was passed and the administration ground to a halt as funds ran out. Berry's next tactic was to pass a bill through the Assembly stating that finance bills did not need to passed by the Council, but would become law when passed by the Assembly. Bowen thought this bill unconstitutional, but signed it on Berry's advice. When the Colonial Office learned of this, Bowen was recalled and the bill overturned.
Finally a compromise was reached, the payment of members bill was passed, and the sacked public servants were reinstated. Berry then introduced another bill to reduce the powers of the Council. When this was rejected, he decided to appeal directly to London. In 1879 Berry and another leading liberal, Charles Pearson, travelled to London to try to persuade the British Government to amend the Victorian Constitution in such a way as to reduce the power of the Council. Unfortunately for them, the Conservatives
under Benjamin Disraeli
were in power, and the Colonial Secretary
, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, refused to agree to Berry's requests.
Returning to Melbourne empty-handed, Berry was welcomed by huge crowds, but he found that the popularity of his government was declining and his majority in the Assembly was crumbling under the strain of the crisis. He tried to pass another bill to amend the Constitution, but in December 1879 it failed by one vote to gain the necessary two-thirds in the Assembly. Berry then resigned, and at the subsequent election he was very narrowly defeated. The conservatives under James Service
formed a weak government, which resigned in June 1880, leading to another election, which the liberals won, though not as convincingly as they had done in 1877.
formed another weak conservative government. Later Berry accepted office as Chief Secretary and Postmaster-General in a coalition government led by Service, from 1883 to 1886.
in 1892, just as the great post Gold Rush
economic boom was collapsing and the colony entering a severe depression, he was elected for East Bourke Boroughs at the May 1892 elections. He was Treasurer in William Shiels
's Liberal government, but the days of reforming liberalism in Victoria were over for the time being and he resigned in January 1893. In October 1894 he was elected Speaker, a post he held until 1897, when he finally retired.
Berry was granted a pension by the Parliament, and devoted the remainder of his life to supporting the cause of Australian Federation. In 1897 he was elected a Victorian delegate to the Constitutional Convention
which drafted the Australian Constitution, mainly because of the support of The Age. At 75, however, he was too frail to contribute much except his prestige as one of the country's liberal heroes. He retired to the seaside with his enormous family, and died at St Kilda
in 1904. He was given a state funeral and eulogised by Prime Minister
Alfred Deakin
.
The Age editorialised on Berry's death: "Sir Graham Berry had ten years of such storms as might well have daunted one less resolute. But he lived to see the triumph of almost all the great reforms he had fought for." This was not strictly true, since the conservative domination of the Legislative Council lasted unbroken for nearly a century after his death, but Berry certainly deserved to be remembered as the most determined liberal politician in 19th century Victoria.
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
politician, was the 11th Premier of Victoria. He was one of the most Radical
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
and colourful figures in the politics of colonial Victoria, and made the most determined efforts to break the power of the Victorian Legislative Council
Victorian Legislative Council
The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...
, the stronghold of the landowning class.
English Birth & Early Years
Berry was born in TwickenhamTwickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
, near 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...
, where his father was a licensed victualler. He had a primary education, then became an apprentice draper
Draper
Draper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer, of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
.
Migration
In 1852 he migrated to VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, and went into business as a grocer
Grocer
A grocer is a bulk seller of food. Beginning as early as the 14th century, a grocer was a dealer in comestible dry goods such as spices, pepper, sugar, and cocoa, tea and coffee...
in Prahran
Prahran, Victoria
Prahran , also known colloquially as "Pran", is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Prahran had a population of 10,651. It is a part of Melbourne with...
, then as a general storekeeper in South Yarra
South Yarra, Victoria
South Yarra is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Stonnington and Melbourne...
. His business skills and Victoria's booming economy soon made him a wealthy man. In 1848 he married Harriet Blencowe, with whom he had eleven children. After her death he married Rebekah Evans in 1871; the couple had seven children of their own. At his death, Berry was survived by eight of the children from his first marriage and all of the children from his second marriage.
In Victoria, Berry, by voracious reading, acquired the education he had missed in England, and taught himself economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. But all his life he retained a broad 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...
accent, (Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
) which many Victorian conservatives found offensive or amusing. In Parliament he once asked the Speaker: "What is now before the 'Ouse?" To which the Leader of the Opposition interjected: "An H!" He developed a powerful rhetorical style modelled on that of his hero Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, equally effective in the rough-house of the colonial Parliament or on the hustings. The conservative newspaper The Argus
The Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
conceded: "His oratory might not be polished: it certainly was not—but it was passionate, and it told." Noted for his humour, Berry was nevertheless a tough and determined politician.
Political career
Berry was elected to the 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:...
for East Melbourne
East Melbourne, Victoria
East Melbourne is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, adjacent to Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, East Melbourne had a population of 4,330....
at a by-election in 1861, as what The Argus
The Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
called "an extreme liberal." At the general election later in the same year he switched to 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...
, then famously the most radical electorate in the colony. He was re-elected in 1864, but his criticism of James McCulloch
James McCulloch
James McCulloch is also the name of the cashier of the Baltimore branch of the Second National Bank of the United States. This James McCulloch was not involved in the McCulloch vs. Maryland U.S. Supreme Court case....
's government during the tariff crisis of 1865 led to his defeat in that year's snap election.
In 1866 Berry moved to Geelong, where he started a newspaper, the Geelong Register, as a rival to the established Geelong Advertiser
Geelong Advertiser
The Geelong Advertiser is a daily newspaper servicing Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the Bellarine Peninsula and surrounding areas. The Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, and was first published on 21 November 1840. The newspaper is...
. When this proved unsuccessful, he bought the Advertiser, and made himself editor of the merged paper. Using the paper as a platform, he was elected for West Geelong in 1869. In 1877 he switched to Geelong, which he represented until 1886. He was briefly Treasurer in John MacPherson
John Alexander MacPherson
John Alexander MacPherson , Australian colonial politician, was the 7th Premier of Victoria.MacPherson was born at his father's property of Springbank on the Limestone Plains, in New South Wales : he was the first Premier of Victoria born in Australia. His father was a Scottish Presbyterian...
's government in 1870. When Charles Gavan Duffy
Charles Gavan Duffy
Additional Reading*, Allen & Unwin, 1973.*John Mitchel, A Cause Too Many, Aidan Hegarty, Camlane Press.*Thomas Davis, The Thinker and Teacher, Arthur Griffith, M.H. Gill & Son 1922....
formed a strong liberal government in June 1871, Berry again became Treasurer. He was a convinced protectionist
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
, and steered a bill for increased tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s through the Parliament.
First stint as Premier
After the conservative interlude of the FrancisJames Francis
James Goodall Francis , Australian colonial politician, was the 9th Premier of Victoria. Francis was born in London, and emigrated to Van Diemen's Land in 1847, where he became a businessman. He moved to Victoria in 1853 and became a leading Melbourne merchant...
and Kerferd
George Kerferd
George Briscoe Kerferd , Australian colonial politician, was the 10th Premier of Victoria.Kerferd was born in Liverpool, the son of G. B. Kerferd, a merchant. Kerferd was educated at the Collegiate Institute, Liverpool, with intentions of studying law; however circumstances led him to enter his...
governments, Berry assumed leadership of the liberals and became Premier and Treasurer in August 1875. But the liberal majority in the Assembly was unreliable, and in October the government's budget was defeated and Berry resigned. He asked the Governor, Sir George Bowen
George Ferguson Bowen
Sir George Ferguson Bowen GCMG was a British colonial administrator whose appointments included postings to the Ionian Islands, Queensland , New Zealand, Victoria , Mauritius and Hong Kong....
, for a dissolution, but was refused. He then campaigned across the colony in opposition to the third McCulloch government.
Second stint as Premier
At the May 1877 election, with the powerful backing of the Melbourne AgeThe Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
under David Syme
David Syme
David Syme was a Scottish-Australian newspaper proprietor of The Age and regarded as "the father of protection in Australia" who had immense influence in the Government of Victoria.-Early life and family:...
, he won a huge liberal majority in the Assembly and returned to office at the head of a radical ministry.
Berry's election manifesto proposed a punitive land tax designed to break up the squatter class's great pastoral properties - about 800 men at this time owned most of Victoria's grazing lands. He also advocated a high tariff to foster local manufacturing, which threatened to harm the importing and banking interests. He promised that if the Council, which was elected on a limited property-based franchise, blocked his program, it would be "dealt with according to its deserts." He described the Council as "a chamber which robs the people of the gold in the soil and the land God gave them." Given that there was no mechanism in the Victorian Constitution to override the Council, this was taken by conservatives to be a threat of revolutionary violence.
In fact Berry was a devoted constitutional liberal and had no plans for illegal measures. But the Councillors were sufficiently alarmed to pass a modified version of Berry's land tax bill, despite the urgings of the ultra-conservative former Premier Sir Charles Sladen
Charles Sladen
Sir Charles Sladen, KCMG , Australian colonial politician, was the 6th Premier of Victoria.Sladen was born in England near Walmer, Kent, the second son of John Baker Sladen, deputy-lieutenant of the county. He was educated at Shrewsbury and later at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. In 1840, he graduated...
to reject it outright. Berry, emboldened, next introduced a bill for the payment of members of the Assembly, which the trade unions were demanding so that working class candidates could be elected. Berry "tacked" the bill to the Appropriations Bill so that Council could not reject it without paralysing the Colony's finances. The Council resented this blackmail and at Sladen's urging rejected the bill.
With the two Houses deadlocked, Berry embarked on a public campaign of "coercion" against the Council. "We coerce madmen," he said, "We put them into lunatic asylums, and never was anything more the act of madmen than the rejection of the Appropriation Bill." To bring matters to a head, on 8 January 1878 ("Black Wednesday") Berry's government began to dismiss public servants, starting with police and judges, arguing that without an Appropriations Bill they could not be paid. Berry next brought in a bill to strip the Council of its powers, which the Council of course rejected.
For the next two years Berry clung to office while the colony was gripped with class conflict, including huge torchlit processions through Melbourne sponsored by The Age (pro-Berry) and The Argus (anti-Berry) - although, remarkably, there was almost no violence. Almost no legislation was passed and the administration ground to a halt as funds ran out. Berry's next tactic was to pass a bill through the Assembly stating that finance bills did not need to passed by the Council, but would become law when passed by the Assembly. Bowen thought this bill unconstitutional, but signed it on Berry's advice. When the Colonial Office learned of this, Bowen was recalled and the bill overturned.
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
under Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. Starting from comparatively humble origins, he served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
were in power, and the Colonial Secretary
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, refused to agree to Berry's requests.
Returning to Melbourne empty-handed, Berry was welcomed by huge crowds, but he found that the popularity of his government was declining and his majority in the Assembly was crumbling under the strain of the crisis. He tried to pass another bill to amend the Constitution, but in December 1879 it failed by one vote to gain the necessary two-thirds in the Assembly. Berry then resigned, and at the subsequent election he was very narrowly defeated. The conservatives under James Service
James Service
James Service , Australian colonial politician, was the 12th Premier of Victoria, Australia.-Biography:Service was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland, and as a young man worked in a Glasgow tea importing business, Thomas Corbett and Company...
formed a weak government, which resigned in June 1880, leading to another election, which the liberals won, though not as convincingly as they had done in 1877.
Third stint as Premier
Berry returned as Premier, but he formed a much more moderate ministry than the one which had fallen in 1879. Both sides were exhausted by the struggle, and in July 1881 a modest reform bill was passed, including some reforms of Council elections, but no concessions on the essential powers of the Council. Berry, feeling he could do no more, resigned, and Bryan O'LoghlenBryan O'Loghlen
Sir Bryan O'Loghlen, 3rd Baronet , Australian colonial politician, was the 13th Premier of Victoria.-Biography:...
formed another weak conservative government. Later Berry accepted office as Chief Secretary and Postmaster-General in a coalition government led by Service, from 1883 to 1886.
Later years
In 1886 Berry resigned from Parliament and was appointed Victorian Agent-General in London, then an important and prestigious post. He was lionised as a liberal hero in London, and made a KCMG, becoming Sir Graham Berry. Although he was now 70, he was not yet done with politics. Returning to MelbourneMelbourne
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...
in 1892, just as the great post Gold Rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
economic boom was collapsing and the colony entering a severe depression, he was elected for East Bourke Boroughs at the May 1892 elections. He was Treasurer 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...
's Liberal government, but the days of reforming liberalism in Victoria were over for the time being and he resigned in January 1893. In October 1894 he was elected Speaker, a post he held until 1897, when he finally retired.
Berry was granted a pension by the Parliament, and devoted the remainder of his life to supporting the cause of Australian Federation. In 1897 he was elected a Victorian delegate to the Constitutional Convention
Constitutional Convention (Australia)
In Australian history, the term Constitutional Convention refers to four distinct gatherings.-1891 convention:The 1891 Constitutional Convention was held in Sydney in March 1891 to consider a draft Constitution for the proposed federation of the British colonies in Australia and New Zealand. There...
which drafted the Australian Constitution, mainly because of the support of The Age. At 75, however, he was too frail to contribute much except his prestige as one of the country's liberal heroes. He retired to the seaside with his enormous family, and died at St Kilda
St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
in 1904. He was given a state funeral and eulogised by 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...
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...
.
The Age editorialised on Berry's death: "Sir Graham Berry had ten years of such storms as might well have daunted one less resolute. But he lived to see the triumph of almost all the great reforms he had fought for." This was not strictly true, since the conservative domination of the Legislative Council lasted unbroken for nearly a century after his death, but Berry certainly deserved to be remembered as the most determined liberal politician in 19th century Victoria.