William Forster
Encyclopedia
William Forster was an Australia
n politician, Premier of New South Wales from 27 October 1859 to 9 March 1860 and poet.
Forster was described in his youth as a "sallow, thin, saturnine young gentleman". He was not a great orator but was a debater of ability, though his habit of indulging in bitter personalities detracted from the effectiveness of his speeches. James Martin
once described him as "disagreeable in opposition, insufferable as a supporter, and fatal as a colleague" but, however true that may have been, it was only one side of his character. A cultured and honest man, thoroughly aware and disdainful of the tricks and shifts of party government, he tried to hold an independent course and do what was best for his country. This was appreciated by the constituencies that elected him to all but one of the parliaments of his lifetime.
, the son of Thomas Forster, army surgeon, and his wife Eliza Blaxland, daughter of Gregory Blaxland
. His parents married in Sydney and travelled to India in 1817, Wales
in 1822, Ireland
in 1825 and settled down in 1829 in Brush Farm, Eastwood
, built by Blaxland in about 1820, and the birthplace of the Australian wine industry. He continued his education in Australia at W. T. Cape
's school and The King's School
.
Forster became a squatter
near Port Macquarie
and the Clarence River
, in New England
, on Gin Gin
on the Wide Bay and Burnett River
(near Hervey Bay
). In 1867 he still controlled over 30,000 hectares in Queensland
. In 1846 he married Eliza Wall and he settled with her on Brush Farm in 1854. They had two sons and six daughters before Eliza died in 1862. He was appointed a magistrate in 1842, but was sacked in 1849, when an aboriginal
was shot by one of his Blaxland relations.
Forster was "probably the most erudite and literate of the squatters" and from 1844 onwards he contributed significantly to Robert Lowe
's the Atlas, including The Devil and the Governor, a poem attacking Governor
Gipps
, described as one of the best Australian satirical poems written in the 19th century. He also contributed to Henry Parkes
' The Empire and other papers.
in 1856 as member for United Counties of Murray and St Vincent. From 1859 to 1860 he represented Queanbeyan
. and, though conservative in tendencies, he opposed the nominee upper house and advocated railway construction on a large scale. He did not believe in party government and endeavoured to maintain an independent position but, when the Cowper
government was defeated in 1859, he became leader of a ministry which lasted for only a little more than four months.
Forster won a by-election for East Sydney
in May 1861 and in October 1863 was again asked to form a ministry. He was unable to do so but became Colonial Secretary in (Sir) James Martin
's ministry until February 1865. From 1864 to 1869, Forster was member for Hastings
. Though he had been a bitter opponent of John Robertson he was given a seat in Robertson's first cabinet as Secretary for Lands in October 1868 but retained his portfolio for only three months after Charles Cowper became Premier in January 1870. He was member for Queanbeyan from 1869 to 1872, Illawarra
from 1872 to 1874 and Murrumbidgee
from 1875 to 1876.
In February 1875, Forster became Colonial Treasurer in Robertson's third ministry and a year later was appointed Agent-General for New South Wales in London. After the third Parkes ministry was formed in December 1878, Forster was recalled because of his dispute with Thomas Woolner
over his commission for a statue of James Cook
for Hyde Park, Sydney
, the offence he gave to London society by wearing bushman's clothes and speaking against the federation of Australia
. He returned to New South Wales, was elected for Gundagai
, and was offered and declined the position of Leader of the Opposition.
Forster in his younger days was a clever journalist but he did not publish anything in book form until towards the end of his life. His one work in prose, Political Presentments, which appeared in London in 1878, includes able discourses on the working of parliament, the development of democracy in Europe, and the political situation of the time. His volumes in verse were The Weirwolf: a Tragedy (1876), The Brothers: a Drama (1877), Midas (1884), works of a vigorous and poetic mind, which in spite of their length can still be read with interest.
In 1873 he married Maud Julia Edwards and they had three sons and two daughters. He died in Edgecliff
.
The town of Forster, New South Wales
was named after him.
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, Premier of New South Wales from 27 October 1859 to 9 March 1860 and poet.
Forster was described in his youth as a "sallow, thin, saturnine young gentleman". He was not a great orator but was a debater of ability, though his habit of indulging in bitter personalities detracted from the effectiveness of his speeches. James Martin
James Martin (Australian politician)
Sir James Martin, KCB, QC was three times Premier of New South Wales, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1873 to 1886.-Early career:...
once described him as "disagreeable in opposition, insufferable as a supporter, and fatal as a colleague" but, however true that may have been, it was only one side of his character. A cultured and honest man, thoroughly aware and disdainful of the tricks and shifts of party government, he tried to hold an independent course and do what was best for his country. This was appreciated by the constituencies that elected him to all but one of the parliaments of his lifetime.
Biography
Forster was born in Madras, IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the son of Thomas Forster, army surgeon, and his wife Eliza Blaxland, daughter of Gregory Blaxland
Gregory Blaxland
Gregory Blaxland was a pioneer farmer and explorer in Australia.- Early life :Gregory Blaxland was born 17 June 1778 at Fordwich, Kent, England, the fourth son of John Blaxland, mayor from 1767 to 1774, whose family had owned estates nearby for generations, and Mary, daughter of Captain Parker,...
. His parents married in Sydney and travelled to India in 1817, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
in 1822, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1825 and settled down in 1829 in Brush Farm, Eastwood
Eastwood, New South Wales
Eastwood is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eastwood is located 17 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of the City of Ryde and the City of Parramatta...
, built by Blaxland in about 1820, and the birthplace of the Australian wine industry. He continued his education in Australia at W. T. Cape
William Timothy Cape
William Timothy Cape was an early school master in Sydney, Australia; several of the Premiers of New South Wales attended his school....
's school and The King's School
The King's School, Sydney
The King's School is an independent Anglican, day and boarding school for boys in North Parramatta in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831, it is Australia's oldest school and forms one of the nine "Great Public Schools" of New South Wales. Situated within a site, Gowan Brae,...
.
Forster became a squatter
Squatting (pastoral)
In Australian history, a squatter was one who occupied a large tract of Crown land in order to graze livestock. Initially often having no legal rights to the land, they gained its usage by being the first Europeans in the area....
near Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie, New South Wales
Port Macquarie is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The city is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and has an estimated population of 44,313....
and the Clarence River
Clarence River (New South Wales)
The Clarence River is situated in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. The river originates on the watershed that marks the Queensland border. After flowing south and northeast for 394 km it then empties into the Pacific Ocean at Iluka/Yamba. On its journey it passes through the towns of...
, in New England
New England (Australia)
New England or New England North West is the name given to a generally undefined region about 60 kilometres inland, that includes the Northern Tablelands and the North West Slopes regions in the north of the state of New South Wales, Australia.-History:The region has been occupied by Indigenous...
, on Gin Gin
Gin Gin, Queensland
Gin Gin is a small rural town located on the Bruce Highway in central Queensland, Australia, approximately 51 km west of Bundaberg and 370 km north-west of Brisbane, the state capital. The town owes its existence to its strategic location about halfway between Brisbane and Rockhampton. It...
on the Wide Bay and Burnett River
Burnett River
The Burnett River is a river in central Queensland, Australia that empties into the Pacific Ocean near the city of Bundaberg. The Burnett River region is largely given over to growing sugar cane....
(near Hervey Bay
Hervey Bay, Queensland
Hervey Bay is a city in Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and lies on the coast of a natural bay between the Queensland mainland and nearby Fraser Island. The local economy relies on tourism, for which whale watching, Fraser Island and...
). In 1867 he still controlled over 30,000 hectares in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. In 1846 he married Eliza Wall and he settled with her on Brush Farm in 1854. They had two sons and six daughters before Eliza died in 1862. He was appointed a magistrate in 1842, but was sacked in 1849, when an aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
was shot by one of his Blaxland relations.
Forster was "probably the most erudite and literate of the squatters" and from 1844 onwards he contributed significantly to Robert Lowe
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke PC , British and Australian statesman, was a pivotal but often forgotten figure who shaped British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under William Ewart Gladstone as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1868 and 1873 and as Home...
's the Atlas, including The Devil and the Governor, a poem attacking Governor
Governors of New South Wales
The Governor of New South Wales is the state viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who is equally shared with 15 other sovereign nations in a form of personal union, as well as with the eleven other jurisdictions of Australia, and resides predominantly in her...
Gipps
George Gipps
Sir George Gipps was Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Australia, for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship was during a period of great change for New South Wales and Australia, as well as for New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales for much of this...
, described as one of the best Australian satirical poems written in the 19th century. He also contributed to Henry Parkes
Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG was an Australian statesman, the "Father of Federation." As the earliest advocate of a Federal Council of the colonies of Australia, a precursor to the Federation of Australia, he was the most prominent of the Australian Founding Fathers.Parkes was described during his...
' The Empire and other papers.
Parliamentary career
When responsible government was granted, Forster was elected to the first 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...
in 1856 as member for United Counties of Murray and St Vincent. From 1859 to 1860 he represented Queanbeyan
Electoral district of Queanbeyan
Queanbeyan was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1859 to 1913, in the Queanbeyan area. It replaced parts of the electoral district of United Counties of Murray and St Vincent and the electoral district of Southern Boroughs...
. and, though conservative in tendencies, he opposed the nominee upper house and advocated railway construction on a large scale. He did not believe in party government and endeavoured to maintain an independent position but, when the Cowper
Charles Cowper
Sir Charles Cowper, KCMG was an Australian politician and the Premier of New South Wales on five different occasions from 1856 to 1870....
government was defeated in 1859, he became leader of a ministry which lasted for only a little more than four months.
Forster won a by-election for East Sydney
Electoral district of East Sydney
East Sydney was an electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the Australian State of New South Wales created in 1859 from part of the electoral district of Sydney, covering the eastern part of the current Sydney central business district, Woolloomooloo, Potts Point, Elizabeth Bay and...
in May 1861 and in October 1863 was again asked to form a ministry. He was unable to do so but became Colonial Secretary in (Sir) James Martin
James Martin (Australian politician)
Sir James Martin, KCB, QC was three times Premier of New South Wales, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1873 to 1886.-Early career:...
's ministry until February 1865. From 1864 to 1869, Forster was member for Hastings
Electoral district of Hastings (New South Wales)
Hastings was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1859 to 1880. It was replaced by Hastings and Manning from 1880 to 1894, which elected two members with voters casting two votes and the two leading candidates being elected. In 1894 it...
. Though he had been a bitter opponent of John Robertson he was given a seat in Robertson's first cabinet as Secretary for Lands in October 1868 but retained his portfolio for only three months after Charles Cowper became Premier in January 1870. He was member for Queanbeyan from 1869 to 1872, Illawarra
Electoral district of Illawarra
Illawarra was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It was originally created in 1859, replacing East Camden. It was replaced by Wollongong in 1904 and recreated in 1927. In 1968, it was abolished and partly replaced by Kembla. In 1971,...
from 1872 to 1874 and Murrumbidgee
Electoral district of Murrumbidgee
Murrumbidgee is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, named after the Murrumbidgee River. It is represented by Adrian Piccoli of the National Party of Australia....
from 1875 to 1876.
In February 1875, Forster became Colonial Treasurer in Robertson's third ministry and a year later was appointed Agent-General for New South Wales in London. After the third Parkes ministry was formed in December 1878, Forster was recalled because of his dispute with Thomas Woolner
Thomas Woolner
Thomas Woolner RA was an English sculptor and poet who was one of the founder-members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was the only sculptor among the original members....
over his commission for a statue of 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...
for Hyde Park, Sydney
Hyde Park, Sydney
Hyde Park is a large park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Hyde Park is on the eastern side of the Sydney central business district. It is the southernmost of a chain of parkland that extends north to the shore of Port Jackson . It is approximately rectangular in shape, being squared at the...
, the offence he gave to London society by wearing bushman's clothes and speaking against the federation of Australia
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
. He returned to New South Wales, was elected for Gundagai
Electoral district of Gundagai
Gundagai was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1880 to 1904 in the Gundagai area. It was replaced by Wynyard.-Members for Gundagai:...
, and was offered and declined the position of Leader of the Opposition.
Forster in his younger days was a clever journalist but he did not publish anything in book form until towards the end of his life. His one work in prose, Political Presentments, which appeared in London in 1878, includes able discourses on the working of parliament, the development of democracy in Europe, and the political situation of the time. His volumes in verse were The Weirwolf: a Tragedy (1876), The Brothers: a Drama (1877), Midas (1884), works of a vigorous and poetic mind, which in spite of their length can still be read with interest.
In 1873 he married Maud Julia Edwards and they had three sons and two daughters. He died in Edgecliff
Edgecliff, New South Wales
Edgecliff is a small suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Edgecliff is located 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. The postcode is 2027.Edgecliff is surrounded by...
.
The town of Forster, New South Wales
Forster, New South Wales
Forster is a large coastal town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Great Lakes Council LGA, about north-north-east of Sydney. It is immediately adjacent to its twin, Tuncurry, which is the smaller of the two towns...
was named after him.