Edward Braddon
Sir Edward Braddon | |
---|---|
18th Premier of Tasmania | |
In office 14 April 1894 – 12 October 1899 | |
Preceded by | Henry Dobson |
Succeeded by | Elliott Lewis |
Personal details | |
Born | St. Kew, Cornwall, UK | 11 June 1829
Died | 2 February 1904 Leith, Tasmania, Australia | (aged 74)
Political party | Free Trade Party |
Children | Six |
Sir Edward Nicholas Coventry Braddon
Both the suburb of Braddon in the Australian Capital Territory and the Division of Braddon in Tasmania are named after him.
Early life
Braddon was born in
Henry and Fanny separated in 1840, due to Henry's financial failures, and in 1847, Braddon left for India to take a job with his cousin's merchant business. He later joined the Indian civil service, rising to the position of assistant commissioner, and serving as Inspector-General of Registration and Commissioner of Excise and Stamps.
Braddon married firstly Mary Georginia Palmer on the 24 Oct 1857 in Calcutta, India, she died aged 24 on the 28th of July 1864 at Simla, Bengal. India. They had two sons and four daughters. One of these sons was Sir
In 1876, Braddon married Alice Smith, who survived him.
During the
Political career
Tasmanian career
In 1879, Braddon was elected to the
In 1888, Braddon represented Tasmania on the Federal Council, the predecessor to the Constitutional Conventions of the 1890s. After leaving parliament in 1888, Braddon was appointed Agent-General for Tasmania in London, a position he held until September 1893. While in London he helped to raise funds to float a number of ventures in Tasmania. These include the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company.
After returning to Tasmania, Braddon was again elected the member for West Devon, and again became opposition leader. In April 1894, Braddon became Premier, and held office until 12 October 1899, the longest term of any Premier up to that date. He drew no salary while in office,[2] but a contemporary diarist, J.B. Walker, judged him "an adventurer ... not overburdened with conscience".[3]
In 1895, Braddon published another volume of memoirs, entitled Thirty Years of Shikar.
Federal career
Braddon was an important proponent of federation in Tasmania. He was elected as one of the Tasmanian representatives to the Constitutional Convention of 1897.
At the convention, he was responsible for the so-called "Braddon Clause" (or "Braddon Blot", as it was known by its opponents). The proposed Constitution provided that the Federal Government would assume the power to levy customs duties, an important source of revenue for the states. The Braddon Clause provided that the Commonwealth would have to return at least three-quarters of all duties collected.
After fierce debate, during which George Reid threatened to withdraw New South Wales from the convention, the Clause was limited in operation to ten years after Federation. The now-defunct Clause is still part of the Constitution of Australia as Section 87, however it was superseded by the Surplus Revenue Act 1910.
At the federal election of 1901, Braddon was elected to the first Australian Parliament as one of the five members for Tasmania, which had not yet been divided into electoral divisions. He was not only the oldest member of the House of Representatives, but, at almost 72 years of age, he is still the oldest person ever elected to the House of Representatives. (The city of Melbourne, where the Parliament then met, had not been founded at the time of his birth). As a supporter of free trade, he joined with Sir George Reid and became a member of the Free Trade Party, where he would occasionally stand as Leader of the Opposition when Reid was absent. In the debates over the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 he spoke in favour of the disenfranchisement of Aboriginals.[4] Braddon was re-elected at the federal election of 1903, as the first member for the Division of Wilmot, but he died suddenly at his home in Tasmania in 1904 before the parliament returned from recess.
Braddon is buried at Pioneer Cemetery in Forth, Tasmania. In February 2004, his grave was restored and a lookout constructed nearby to commemorate the centenary of his death.
Honours
In 1891 Braddon was made a Knight Commander of the
The Canberra suburb of Braddon, Australian Capital Territory was named after Sir Edward in 1928. The building housing the federal law courts in Hobart, Tasmania, is named after him.
See also
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1901-1903
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1903-1906
References
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 12 Oct 2007
- ^ William Coleman,Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914, Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.110.
- ^ William Coleman,Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914, Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.330
- ^ William Coleman,Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914, Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.300.
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- Serle, Percival (1949). "Braddon, Edward". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
- Tasmanian Bicentenary Office – 200 Footprints
- "Braddon, Edward". Members of the Parliament of Tasmania. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
External links
- Thirty years of Shikar (1895)
Further reading
- Mennell, Philip (1892). . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.