McGowen ministry
34th Cabinet of the State of New South Wales
Premier James McGowen
Date formed21 October 1910 (1910-10-21)
Date dissolved29 June 1913 (1913-06-29)
People and organisations
MonarchGeorge V
GovernorLord Chelmsford / Sir Gerald Strickland
Head of governmentJames McGowen
No. of ministers11
Member partyLabor
Status in legislatureMajority government
Opposition partyLiberal Reform
Opposition leaderCharles Wade
History
Election(s)1910 New South Wales election
Outgoing election1913 New South Wales election
PredecessorWade ministry
SuccessorHolman Labor ministry

The McGowen ministry was the 34th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 18th Premier, James McGowen. This ministry marks the first Labor ministry in the state of New South Wales.

McGowen was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1891, serving until 1917, before being appointed to the Legislative Council. He succeeded in defeating the government of Charles Wade at the 1910 state election and was commissioned to form government by Lord Chelmsford, Governor of New South Wales.[1]

In March 1911 Walter Bevan, a public servant employed as a Crown prosecutor, was appointed Solicitor General, however he was not a member of parliament, nor was this a cabinet role.[2] In April 1912 David Hall resigned his seat in the House of Representatives was appointed to the Legislative Council and as Minister of Justice on 2 April 1912. It was initially intended that Bevan would retain his role as Solicitor General,[3] however two days later however Hall was appointed to replace Bevan in the role.[4]

The ministry covers the period from 21 October 1910 until 29 June 1913,[5] when McGowen resigned due to his health and misjudgment in attempting to settle a gasworkers strike and was succeeded by his deputy, William Holman.[1][6][7]

Composition of ministry

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier McGowen on 21 October 1910.

Portfolio Minister Party Term start Term end Term length
Premier James McGowen   Labor 21 October 1910 29 June 1913 2 years, 251 days
Treasurer
Collector of Internal Revenue 		26 November 1911 1 year, 36 days
John Dacey [c] 27 November 1911 11 April 1912 136 days
Campbell Carmichael 17 April 1912 5 May 1912 18 days
John Cann 6 May 1912 29 June 1913 1 year, 54 days
Chief Secretary
Registrar of Records 		Donald Macdonell [b] 21 October 1910 26 October 1911 1 year, 5 days
Fred Flowers MLC 7 November 1911 26 November 1911 19 days
James McGowen 27 November 1911 29 June 1913 1 year, 214 days
Attorney General William Holman 21 October 1910 2 years, 251 days
Minister of Justice 1 April 1912 1 year, 163 days
David Hall MLC   2 April 1912 29 June 1913 1 year, 88 days
Solicitor General   4 April 1912 1 year, 86 days
Minister for Agriculture Donald Macdonell [b] 21 October 1910 10 September 1911 324 days
John Treflé 7 November 1911 29 June 1913 1 year, 234 days
Secretary for Lands Niels Nielsen [a] 21 October 1910 1 August 1911 284 days
Fred Flowers MLC 4 August 1911 26 November 1911 117 days
George Beeby [d] 19 September 1911 9 December 1912 1 year, 81 days
John Treflé 10 December 1912 29 June 1913 201 days
Secretary for Public Works Arthur Griffith 21 October 1910 2 years, 251 days
Minister of Public Instruction George Beeby 10 September 1911 324 days
Campbell Carmichael 11 September 1911 26 November 1911 76 days
Fred Flowers MLC 27 November 1911 29 February 1912 94 days
Campbell Carmichael 1 March 1912 29 June 1913 1 year, 120 days
Minister for Labour and Industry George Beeby 21 October 1910 10 September 1911 324 days
Campbell Carmichael 11 September 1911 26 November 1911 76 days
George Beeby [d] 27 November 1911 9 December 1912 1 year, 12 days
Campbell Carmichael 10 December 1912 29 June 1913 201 days
Secretary for Mines Alfred Edden 21 October 1910 2 years, 251 days
Vice-President of the Executive Council
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council 		Fred Flowers MLC 2 years, 251 days
Minister without portfolio Campbell Carmichael 10 September 1911 2 years, 251 days
John Treflé 6 November 1911 1 year, 16 days
John Dacey 10 November 1911 26 November 1911 16 days

Ministers were members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b On 25 July 1911, two Labor Members of the Legislative Assembly resigned from the Labor Party and Parliament in protest at legislation on land ownership introduced by Secretary for Lands, Niels Nielsen. As a result Labor was left without a majority in the house and rather than face a vote of no confidence, the Ministry and Speaker resigned. Labor policy was reversed and Nielsen resigned from the cabinet on 1 August 1911.[8]
  2. ^ a b c Donald Macdonell was absent from the parliament from 1 March 1911 due to illness. He was automatically expelled for non-attendance during an entire session but was re-elected unopposed. He died on 26 October 1911, while in office.
  3. ^ a b John Dacey died on 11 April 1912, resulting in another reshuffle in McGowen's senior Ministers.
  4. ^ a b c George Beeby resigned from the ministry, parliament and party in protest at the power of the extra-parliamentary Labor Party executive in December 1912, necessitating a further reshuffle.[9]
  5. ^ The causes of changes to the composition of the ministry, in chronological order, were Nielsen resigned,[a] McDonnell died,[b] Dacey died,[c] and Beeby resigned.[d]

References

  1. ^ a b Nairn, Bede. "McGowen, James Sinclair Taylor (1855–1922)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  2. ^ Mason, K, The Office of Solicitor General for New South Wales (PDF) (1988 Autumn) Bar News: Journal of the NSW Bar Association 22.
  3. ^ "The new minister for Justice". Wagga Wagga Express. 4 April 1912. p. 2. Retrieved 8 September 2022 – via Trove.
  4. ^ "Appointment of the Honourable David Robert Hall, MLC, to be also Solicitor-General". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 49. 10 April 1912. p. 2229. Retrieved 1 February 2019 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 March 2020.[e]
  6. ^ "Mr McGowen's position". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 June 1913. p. 8. Retrieved 23 July 2021 – via Trove.
  7. ^ "New Labour leader Mr Holman". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 June 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 23 July 2021 – via Trove.
  8. ^ Nairn, Bede (1988). "Nielsen, Niels Rasmus Wilson (1869–1930)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  9. ^ Nairn, Bede (1979). "Beeby, Sir George Stephenson (1869–1942)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. pp. 243–246. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 23 July 2021.

 

Preceded byWade ministry McGowen ministry 1910 – 1913 Succeeded byFirst Holman ministry
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