Joseph Cook
Encyclopedia
Sir Joseph Cook, GCMG
(7 December 1860 – 30 July 1947) was an Australian politician and the sixth Prime Minister of Australia. Born as Joseph Cooke and working in the coal mines of Silverdale
, Staffordshire during his early life, he emigrated to Lithgow
, New South Wales during the late 1880s, and became General-Secretary of the Western Miners Association in 1887.
A founding member of the Australian Labor Party
, Cook was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
as Member for Hartley
in 1891. Later Cook switched to the Free Trade Party
, and was a minister in the cabinet of Premier George Reid
from 1894 to 1899. During Australia's first federal election in 1901, Cook was elected unopposed to the federal seat of Parramatta
, and served as the deputy to Reid, then Alfred Deakin
, following the creation of the Commonwealth Liberal Party
from Cook's and Deakin's parties.
As leader of the Liberal Party, Cook became Prime Minister following the 1913 elections
; but he only had a one-seat majority in the lower house and no majority at all in the upper house, so he repeatedly sought to obtain a double dissolution
. The outbreak of World War I just before the September 1914 election
led to a Labor victory. Following a split in the Labor party in 1916, Cook joined William Morris Hughes
' Nationalist Party of Australia
, and following the Nationalist victory in the 1917 election
, served as Minister for the Navy
, then Treasurer under Hughes.
In 1921 Cook resigned from the federal parliament, and was appointed Australian High Commissioner in London. During 1928 and 1929, he headed the Royal Commission
into South Australia as affected by Federation. He died in Sydney in 1947.
, a small mining town near Newcastle-under-Lyme
in Staffordshire
, England. He had no formal education and worked in the coal mines from the age of nine. During his teens he embraced Primitive Methodism
, and marked his conversion by dropping the 'e' from his surname. He married Mary Turner in 1885 and shortly after emigrated to New South Wales
.
Cook settled in Lithgow
and worked in the coal mines, becoming General-Secretary of the Western Miners Association in 1887. In 1888, he participated in demonstrations against Chinese immigration. He was also active in the Single Tax League
and was a founding member of the Australian Labor Party
in 1891.
Cook was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
as MP for the coalfields seat of Hartley
in 1891, in Labor's first big breakthrough in Australian politics. It was the first time Labor had won a seat in any parliament in Australia.
In 1894, however, Cook was the leader of those parliamentarians who refused to accept the Labor Party's decision to make all members sign a "pledge" to be bound by decisions of the Parliamentary Labor Party (Caucus). He left the party and became a follower of George Reid
's Free Trade Party
. He was a minister in Reid's government from 1894 to 1899.
, a seat which then included the Lithgow
area. He became Reid's deputy, but did not hold office in Reid's 1904–05 ministry, mainly because Reid needed to offer portfolios to independent Protectionist
members. When Reid retired from the party leadership in 1908, Cook agreed to merge the Anti-Socialist Party (the Free Trade Party was renamed prior to the 1906 federal election) with Alfred Deakin
's Protectionists, and became deputy leader of the new Commonwealth Liberal Party
.
Cook served as Defence Minister
in Deakin's 1909–1910 ministry, then succeeded Deakin as Liberal leader when the government was defeated by Labor in the 1910 elections. He had by this time become completely philosophically opposed to socialism.
At the 1913 elections
Cook won a one-seat majority in the House of Representatives, while Labor retained a majority in the Senate, and in doing so became the sixth Prime Minister of Australia
. Unable to govern effectively without control of the Senate, Cook decided to bring about a double dissolution
election under section 57 of the Constitution of Australia
. He introduced a bill abolishing preferential employment for trade union members in the public service, a bill he knew the Senate would repeatedly reject. When this rejection duly took place, he sought and obtained a double dissolution of the Parliament from the Governor-General
.
Unfortunately for Cook, World War I broke out in the middle of the election campaign for the September 1914 election
. Fisher was able to remind the voters that it was Labor that had favoured an independent Australian defence force, which the conservatives had opposed. Cook was defeated and Fisher resumed office.
. Cook agreed to become Hughes's deputy in the new Nationalist Party
, and became Minister for the Navy
in Hughes's government. The Nationalists had big victories over the ALP in the 1917 and 1919 elections. Cook was part of the Australian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference
where he defended the White Australia Policy
and supported Australia's annexation of German New Guinea
. He was Treasurer (finance minister) 1920–21.
Cook resigned from Parliament in 1921 and was appointed Australian High Commissioner in London, where he served until 1927. During 1928 and 1929, he headed the Royal Commission
into South Australia as affected by Federation. He died in Sydney in 1947, aged 86.
Cook was appointed to the Privy Council on 16 July 1914. He was knighted in 1918 as Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
(GCMG).
In 1972, he was honoured on a postage stamp
bearing his portrait issued by Australia Post
.
Cook is the only Prime Minister up to Sir William McMahon
who does not have a federal electorate named after him. Although there is a seat called Cook, that was named not after the Prime Minister but after Captain James Cook
.
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....
(7 December 1860 – 30 July 1947) was an Australian politician and the sixth Prime Minister of Australia. Born as Joseph Cooke and working in the coal mines of Silverdale
Silverdale, Staffordshire
Silverdale is a suburban village and civil parish in Staffordshire, west of Newcastle-under-Lyme. In 1932 it became part of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and is now, with the exception of the north-eastern end, part of the Silverdale and Parksite ward....
, Staffordshire during his early life, he emigrated to Lithgow
Lithgow, New South Wales
Lithgow is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the centre of the local political division City of Lithgow. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of William Lithgow, the first Auditor-General of New South Wales.Lithgow is...
, New South Wales during the late 1880s, and became General-Secretary of the Western Miners Association in 1887.
A founding member of the Australian Labor Party
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...
, Cook was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New 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...
as Member for Hartley
Electoral district of Hartley (New South Wales)
Hartley was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1859 in the Lithgow area and named after the town of Hartley, near Lithgow. It replaced part of Cook and Westmoreland. From 1891 to 1894, it elected two members...
in 1891. Later Cook switched to the Free Trade Party
Free Trade Party
The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states and renamed the Anti-Socialist Party in 1906, was an Australian political party, formally organised between 1889 and 1909...
, and was a minister in the cabinet of Premier George Reid
George Reid (Australian politician)
Sir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and the fourth Prime Minister of Australia....
from 1894 to 1899. During Australia's first federal election in 1901, Cook was elected unopposed to the federal seat of Parramatta
Division of Parramatta
The Division of Parramatta is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the locality of Parramatta. The name Parramatta has been sourced to an Aboriginal...
, and served as the deputy to Reid, then 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...
, following the creation of the Commonwealth Liberal Party
Commonwealth Liberal Party
The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....
from Cook's and Deakin's parties.
As leader of the Liberal Party, Cook became Prime Minister following the 1913 elections
Australian federal election, 1913
Federal elections were held in Australia on 31 May 1913. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Andrew Fisher was defeated by the opposition Commonwealth Liberal...
; but he only had a one-seat majority in the lower house and no majority at all in the upper house, so he repeatedly sought to obtain a double dissolution
Double dissolution
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate....
. The outbreak of World War I just before the September 1914 election
Australian federal election, 1914
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 September 1914. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 36 seats in the Senate were up for election in a double dissolution...
led to a Labor victory. Following a split in the Labor party in 1916, Cook joined William Morris Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
' Nationalist Party of Australia
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 following the Nationalist victory in 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...
, served as Minister for the Navy
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
, then Treasurer under Hughes.
In 1921 Cook resigned from the federal parliament, and was appointed Australian High Commissioner in London. During 1928 and 1929, he headed the Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
into South Australia as affected by Federation. He died in Sydney in 1947.
Early years
Cook was born as Joseph Cooke in SilverdaleSilverdale, Staffordshire
Silverdale is a suburban village and civil parish in Staffordshire, west of Newcastle-under-Lyme. In 1932 it became part of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and is now, with the exception of the north-eastern end, part of the Silverdale and Parksite ward....
, a small mining town near Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England. He had no formal education and worked in the coal mines from the age of nine. During his teens he embraced Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
, and marked his conversion by dropping the 'e' from his surname. He married Mary Turner in 1885 and shortly after emigrated to 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...
.
Cook settled in Lithgow
Lithgow, New South Wales
Lithgow is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the centre of the local political division City of Lithgow. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of William Lithgow, the first Auditor-General of New South Wales.Lithgow is...
and worked in the coal mines, becoming General-Secretary of the Western Miners Association in 1887. In 1888, he participated in demonstrations against Chinese immigration. He was also active in the Single Tax League
Single Tax League
The Single Tax League was an Australian political party that flourished throughout the 1920s and 30s.Based upon the ideas of Henry George, who argued that all taxes should be abolished, save for a single tax on unimproved land values, the Single Tax League was founded shortly after World War I, and...
and was a founding member of the Australian Labor Party
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...
in 1891.
Political career
New 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...
as MP for the coalfields seat of Hartley
Electoral district of Hartley (New South Wales)
Hartley was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1859 in the Lithgow area and named after the town of Hartley, near Lithgow. It replaced part of Cook and Westmoreland. From 1891 to 1894, it elected two members...
in 1891, in Labor's first big breakthrough in Australian politics. It was the first time Labor had won a seat in any parliament in Australia.
In 1894, however, Cook was the leader of those parliamentarians who refused to accept the Labor Party's decision to make all members sign a "pledge" to be bound by decisions of the Parliamentary Labor Party (Caucus). He left the party and became a follower of George Reid
George Reid (Australian politician)
Sir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and the fourth Prime Minister of Australia....
's Free Trade Party
Free Trade Party
The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states and renamed the Anti-Socialist Party in 1906, was an Australian political party, formally organised between 1889 and 1909...
. He was a minister in Reid's government from 1894 to 1899.
Federal Parliament
When the first federal Parliament was elected in 1901, Cook was elected, unopposed by Labor, member for ParramattaDivision of Parramatta
The Division of Parramatta is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the locality of Parramatta. The name Parramatta has been sourced to an Aboriginal...
, a seat which then included the Lithgow
Lithgow, New South Wales
Lithgow is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the centre of the local political division City of Lithgow. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of William Lithgow, the first Auditor-General of New South Wales.Lithgow is...
area. He became Reid's deputy, but did not hold office in Reid's 1904–05 ministry, mainly because Reid needed to offer portfolios to independent Protectionist
Protectionist Party
The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...
members. When Reid retired from the party leadership in 1908, Cook agreed to merge the Anti-Socialist Party (the Free Trade Party was renamed prior to the 1906 federal election) with 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 Protectionists, and became deputy leader of the new Commonwealth Liberal Party
Commonwealth Liberal Party
The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....
.
Cook served as Defence Minister
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
in Deakin's 1909–1910 ministry, then succeeded Deakin as Liberal leader when the government was defeated by Labor in the 1910 elections. He had by this time become completely philosophically opposed to socialism.
Prime Minister
Australian federal election, 1913
Federal elections were held in Australia on 31 May 1913. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Andrew Fisher was defeated by the opposition Commonwealth Liberal...
Cook won a one-seat majority in the House of Representatives, while Labor retained a majority in the Senate, and in doing so became the sixth Prime Minister of Australia
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...
. Unable to govern effectively without control of the Senate, Cook decided to bring about a double dissolution
Double dissolution
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate....
election under section 57 of the Constitution of Australia
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
. He introduced a bill abolishing preferential employment for trade union members in the public service, a bill he knew the Senate would repeatedly reject. When this rejection duly took place, he sought and obtained a double dissolution of the Parliament from the Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
.
Unfortunately for Cook, World War I broke out in the middle of the election campaign for the September 1914 election
Australian federal election, 1914
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 September 1914. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 36 seats in the Senate were up for election in a double dissolution...
. Fisher was able to remind the voters that it was Labor that had favoured an independent Australian defence force, which the conservatives had opposed. Cook was defeated and Fisher resumed office.
Nationalist Party
In 1916, the Labor government split when Hughes (who had succeeded Fisher as Prime Minister the previous year) tried to introduce conscriptionConscription in Australia
Conscription in Australia, or mandatory military service also known as National Service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood...
. Cook agreed to become Hughes's deputy in the new 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 became Minister for the Navy
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
in Hughes's government. The Nationalists had big victories over the ALP in the 1917 and 1919 elections. Cook was part of the Australian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
where he defended the White Australia Policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
and supported Australia's annexation of German New Guinea
German New Guinea
German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...
. He was Treasurer (finance minister) 1920–21.
Cook resigned from Parliament in 1921 and was appointed Australian High Commissioner in London, where he served until 1927. During 1928 and 1929, he headed the Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
into South Australia as affected by Federation. He died in Sydney in 1947, aged 86.
Honours
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....
(GCMG).
In 1972, he was honoured on a postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
bearing his portrait issued by Australia Post
Australia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
.
Cook is the only Prime Minister up to Sir William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
who does not have a federal electorate named after him. Although there is a seat called Cook, that was named not after the Prime Minister but after Captain James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
.
Further reading
- Bebbington, G. (1986), Pit Boy to Prime Minister, University of Keele.
- Hughes, Colin AColin HughesColin Anfield Hughes is an Australian academic specializing in electoral politics and government.He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Columbia University and his Ph.D from the London School of Economics. In 1966, along with John S...
(1976), Mr Prime Minister. Australian Prime Ministers 1901–1972, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, Victoria, Ch.7. ISBN 0 19 550471 2 - Murdoch, John (1996), Sir Joe: A Political Biograsphy of Sir Joseph Cook, Minerva Press, London.
- Rickard, John (2000), 'Sir Joseph Cook,' in Michelle Grattan (ed.), Australian Prime Ministers, New Holland, Frenchs Forest, New South Wales, pages 89–98. ISBN 1 86436 756 3