Chris Watson

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Chris Watson around 1904

John Christian "Chris" Watson (* probably April 9, 1867 in Valparaíso , Chile , † November 18, 1941 in Sydney , New South Wales ) was an Australian Labor politician and the country's 3rd Prime Minister . His term of office lasted from April 27 to August 17, 1904. He led the world's first social democratic government at the national level. In addition, at the age of 37 when he took office, he was the youngest Prime Minister in Australian history to date. From August 17, 1904 to July 5, 1905 he was the leader of the opposition.

Life

Before becoming Prime Minister (until April 1904)

Regarding his own origins, Chris Watson always stated that his father was the British seaman George Watson. However, he took its name at a young age. His mother Martha, b. Minchin, only married this second marriage when Chris was two years old. In fact, his father was Johan Christian Tanck, a Chilean citizen of German origin. Chris Watson was the only child from his mother's first marriage. These details of his parentage were not known until after Chris Watson's death. During his lifetime it was hidden that he was not British and therefore should not have become a member of parliament in Australia and also not the country's prime minister. Even as a “British” he was never naturalized to Australia.

Shortly after his birth and before his mother's divorce from his actual father in 1868, he was relocated to New Zealand , their home country. Chris Watson grew up in Oamaru with his 9 step-siblings. He left school in 1877 at the age of 10, initially to become a railroad worker. At 13, he began training as a typesetter in the North Otago Times print shop . He joined a union at that time .

In 1886 he moved to Sydney, Australia, where he worked for several newspapers and developed an interest in daily politics. As a union member and quickly rose to the Sydney Trades and Union Council . In 1891 he was a co-founder of the Labor Electoral League , a forerunner of what would later become the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in New South Wales . Chris Watson was elected to this colony's parliament in 1894.

On November 27, 1889, he married the tailor Ada Jane Lowe, who had immigrated from England , with whom he stayed until her death in 1921. This marriage remained childless.

As a Labor politician, he represented moderate positions and introduced many basic regulations within the party regarding processes and organization. He advocated the unification of the British colonies in Australia into an independent Australian state , albeit not very firmly .

After the Australian state was realized on January 1, 1901, he was able to move into the House of Representatives of the Australian Parliament after the first Australian parliamentary elections on March 29, 1901 as an elected representative for the constituency of Bland. In the run-up to this election, he resigned his mandate as a member of the state parliament of New South Wales, which he had previously maintained without interruption.

Two days before the constituent session of the first Australian parliament on May 10, 1901, which at that time still met in the provisional capital Melbourne , he was surprisingly elected as a compromise candidate for James McGowan and Billy Hughes as party chairman of the ALP . In addition, he was only 34 years old at the time.

In the parliamentary elections of December 1903, his mandate was confirmed.

As Prime Minister (April to August 1904)

During the terms of office of the first two Australian Prime Ministers Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin , who advocated protectionist policies, Labor was by far the smallest group alongside Conservatives and Liberals as the third force. Both prime ministers were nonetheless dependent on Labor support. There were disagreements over the issue of paying civil servants. After Alfred Deakin failed to find a majority in March 1904 for a related law, the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill , he resigned on April 27th. On the same day, Chris Watson was appointed by Governor General Lord Henry Northcote to form a government and so he became Prime Minister.

In view of the majority in parliament, however, it was clear that Chris Watson would only be able to hold out if he renounced decidedly socialist programs and continued Deakin's moderate policies. Ultimately, like his predecessor, Chris Watson stumbled upon the passage of the same law that he was unable to get through parliament. He now saw the dissolution of both chambers of parliament as a possibility of maintaining power in order to be able to create a clear majority through new elections. However, the governor general did not comply with his request. On August 17th, he had to give up his office, which now took over the free trade advocate George Reid .

After he was Prime Minister (from August 1904)

In 1906 he led the ALP in an election campaign that brought it significant votes. Also in these elections he won a mandate, now for the constituency of South Sydney , since his old one was abolished. Nevertheless, he decided in October 1907, just 40 years old, to hand over the chairmanship to Andrew Fisher . However, he remained connected to his party and repeatedly appeared as an election campaigner for you. He also supported them in the production of party newspapers.

Only later did he increasingly clash with the majority of the ALP when he advocated the introduction of conscription in Australia during the First World War . He was therefore expelled from the party he co-founded. After the end of his political career, he was actively involved in the trade unions, then went to the National Roads and Motorists Association , of which he remained chairman until his death. In addition, Chris Watson became a businessman in the wool and textile industry as well as in the field of transportation.

On October 30, 1925, he married the 23-year-old waitress Antonia Mary Gladys Dowlan from Western Australia in the same church in which he married his first wife. From this marriage in 1927 Chris Watson's only child, his daughter Jacqueline, was born.

He died on November 18, 1941 at his home in Double Bay, a southern suburb of Sydney.

literature

  • Al Grassby, Silvia Ordonez: The Man Time Forgot: The Life and Times of John Christian Watson . Pluto Press, Sydney (NSW) 1999, ISBN 978-1864030839 .
  • Ross McMullin: So Monstrous a Travesty: Chris Watson and the World's First National Labor Government . Scribe Publications, Carlton North (Vic.) 2004, ISBN 978-1920769130 .

Web links

Commons : Chris Watson  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Watson, John Christian (Chris) (1867 - 1941) (biography entry at Australian Trade Union Archives - English)