Albert Dunstan
Albert Dunstan | |
---|---|
33rd Premier of Victoria | |
In office 2 April 1935 – 14 September 1943 | |
Monarchs | George V Edward VIII George VI |
Preceded by | Stanley Argyle |
Succeeded by | John Cain Sr. |
In office 18 September 1943 – 2 October 1945 | |
Monarch | George VI |
Preceded by | John Cain Sr. |
Succeeded by | Ian Macfarlan |
3rd Deputy Premier of Victoria | |
In office 15 March 1935 – 20 March 1935 | |
Premier | Sir Stanley Argyle |
Preceded by | Ian Macfarlan |
Succeeded by | Wilfrid Kent Hughes |
Personal details | |
Born | 26 July 1882 Country Party of Australia |
Spouse |
Jessie Gerard Chisholm
(m. 1911) |
Occupation | Farmer |
Sir Albert Arthur Dunstan,
Early life
Dunstan was born on 26 July 1882 at
Dunstan was educated at the local state school, leaving at a young age to work on the family's selection at Cope Cope where they grew wheat. In 1907 he moved to Queensland where he took up a "pioneer block" at Jondaryan, living in a tent. He returned to Victoria in 1909 and farmed at Goschen near Swan Hill. He later farmed at Kaneira, before establishing a sheep property at Kamarooka in 1918; he and his family lived in nearby Bendigo.[1]
Politics
Dunstan joined the Kaneira branch of the
At a time when the Country Party held the
In 1926, Dunstan and federal MP Percy Stewart led a breakaway from the Country Party, forming the Country Progressive Party (CPP). He was re-elected as a CPP candidate at the 1927 state election, along with three others. The parties reunited in 1930 as the United Country Party (UCP), with Dunstan as deputy leader under Allan.[1]
Dunstan was the third Deputy Premier of Victoria, serving for five days under premier Sir Stanley Argyle in March 1935.[2] Dunstan became Premier of Victoria when he and the Country Party unexpectedly withdrew his party's support for the Argyle Government.
Premier
Argyle had fought the
When the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General Lou Bussau resigned in 1938, Henry Bailey became Attorney-General while Dunstan added the portfolio of Solicitor-General to his offices of Premier and Treasurer.[3]
The UAP (and later its successor the
On 14 September 1943, Dunstan resigned when his government lost a vote of no confidence in the Victorian Legislative Assembly on the issue of electoral redistribution.[1][4] For the next four days, Labor formed minority government with John Cain Sr. as Premier. On 15 September, the Cain government was defeated in the Legislative Assembly. Cain's motion to adjourn the parliament for over a week was defeated by the Country Party and the UAP, and Dunstan moved that Parliament resume the next day, giving notice that he would move a motion of no confidence against Cain's government, confident it would be carried by the CP–UAP alliance.[5] Cain indicated that he would request a dissolution of parliament from the Governor, but if his request was refused, he would resign as Premier.[6] On 17 September, Cain visited the Governor who refused his request for a dissolution, Cain then resigned and the Governor commissioned Dunstan to form a coalition government with the UAP, which was sworn in on Saturday 18 September.[7][8]
Defeat and aftermath
At the end of September 1945, the Dunstan government was defeated in the
Dunstan resigned as leader of the Country Party after the 1945 state election, which saw the ALP make significant gains. He was succeeded by John McDonald. At McDonald's insistence, he returned to the ministry following the 1947 state election, which saw a Liberal–Country coalition government headed by Thomas Hollway. He was appointed Minister for Health, but served only until the coalition collapsed in November 1948.[1]
Personal life
In 1911, Dunstan married Jessie Chisholm, with whom he had six children. The family lived in Bendigo until 1943, when they moved to Melbourne. He died of coronary vascular disease at his home in Camberwell on 14 April 1950, aged 67.[1]
Legacy
A statue of Sir Albert Dunstan can be found at Treasury Place, East Melbourne. It is one of four statues in Premier's Lane honouring the longest-serving premiers of Victoria.
See also
- First Dunstan Ministry (Victoria)
- Second Dunstan Ministry (Victoria)
References
- ^ ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
- ^ "Sir Albert Arthur Dunstan". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Appointment Solicitor-General Albert Dunstan". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 22 April 1938. p. 1938:1315.
- ISSN 1833-7538.
- ^ "CAIN MINISTRY DEFEATED". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 16 September 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ^ "SHORT LIFE". The Cairns Post. Qld.: National Library of Australia. 16 September 1943. p. 5. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ^ "DISSOLUTION REFUSED". The Cairns Post. Qld.: National Library of Australia. 18 September 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
- ISSN 1833-7538.
External links
- History of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Victoria. Accessed 24 March 2006.
- "Victoria's Longest-Serving Premiers Honoured", media releasefrom the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Victoria, 9 December 1999.