Frank Forde

Francis Michael Forde (18 July 1890 – 28 January 1983) was an Australian politician who served as the 15th

After Labor's landslide defeat at the 1931 election, Forde was elected deputy leader in place of Ted Theodore. He was expected to become party leader after Scullin's retirement in 1935 but lost to John Curtin by one vote. He returned to cabinet in 1941 as Minister for the Army in the Curtin government, and as the de facto deputy prime minister was one of the government's most prominent figures. When John Curtin died in office in 1945, Forde was appointed prime minister to serve while the Labor Party elected a new leader. He contested the leadership ballot against Ben Chifley and Norman Makin, but Chifley emerged victorious.

Forde continued on as deputy leader and army minister in the

Forde was born on 18 July 1890 in Mitchell, Queensland. He was the second of six children born to Ellen (née Quirk) and John Forde. His parents were both Irish immigrants – his father was born in Ballinaglera, County Leitrim, while his mother was from County Tipperary. His father was working as a grazier at the time of his birth, and later worked as a railway supervisor.^[1]

Forde began his education at the local state school and later boarded at

State politics

Forde joined the Labor Party in 1915, at the urging of state MP

Forde took his seat in the House of Representatives at the age of 32, becoming one of the youngest members of the new parliament.[3] He soon became known as a champion of the sugar and cotton industries. Despite the party's dominance in state politics, he was the only Labor MP in Queensland to be re-elected at the 1925 federal election.^[1] He remained the only Queenslander in the ALP caucus until August 1928, when John MacDonald was appointed to a casual vacancy in the Senate. In 1927, Forde was appointed as his Labor Party's representative to the Royal Commission on the Moving Picture Industry. He and the other commissioners travelled around Australia interviewing 250 witnesses.^[7] The royal commission recommended the establishment of a national film censorship board, with films able to be refused registration on morality grounds.^[8]

Scullin government (1929–1932)

The Labor Party won the

Forde remained loyal to the Scullin government during the ALP split of 1931, supporting the Premiers' Plan. When Fenton and Joseph Lyons resigned from cabinet in February 1931, Forde was elected to one of the vacancies and appointed Minister for Trade and Customs.^[9] At the 1931 election, the ALP suffered a landslide and returned only 14 MPs, the lowest total in its history. However, in Forde's state of Queensland the party actually increased its representation, winning an additional two House seats and all three seats in the Senate.^[1]

Tariff policy

External videos
Newsreel footage of Forde as Minister for Trade and Customs promoting Efftee Studios in 1931.

Forde was the "principal architect" of the Scullin government's policy of high tariffs, which aimed to reduce the effect of the Great Depression on secondary industries.^[1] He introduced what The Canberra Times called a "tariff extravaganza", and was known as a staunch protectionist.^[9] However, the government's measures had little effect on the economy.^[7] Forde was a supporter of the emerging Australian motion picture industry. Despite his reputation as a protectionist, he agreed to reduce the tariff on imported sound equipment from 60 percent to just 10 percent, after vigorous lobbying from F. W. Thring.^[10] In June 1931, he was invited to officially open Efftee Studios, Thring's production studio in Melbourne.^[11] He was "shamelessly cultivated as a good friend of Efftee, with an open invitation to look in on shooting and mingle with the stars".^[12] One of Thring's investors was Tom Holt, the father of another future Australian prime minister Harold Holt.^[10]

Censorship

As acting customs minister in 1930, Forde played a key role in the banning of

One of the MPs defeated at the 1931 election was Treasurer Ted Theodore, the ALP's deputy leader. A ballot for the party's leadership positions was held on 16 February 1932, at which Scullin was re-elected unopposed as leader and Forde was elected as his deputy. He thus became Deputy Leader of the Opposition. With Scullin suffering frequent bouts of ill health, Forde was Acting Leader of the Opposition on a number occasions. Notably, after the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935 he announced that the ALP would pursue a policy of non-participation, as "the control of Abyssinia is not worth the loss of a single Australian life".^[9]

When Scullin retired in 1935, Forde contested the leadership ballot but was defeated by one vote by John Curtin, eleven votes to ten. The Age called it "one of the greatest surprises in federal political circles during recent years". It has been suggested that some MPs viewed Forde as too closely linked with the activities of the Scullin government.^[9]

In 1940, Forde was one of three Labor MPs elected to the bipartisan Advisory War Council, along with Curtin and Norman Makin.^[7]

Government (1941–1946)

Curtin government, 1941–1945

Forde was a loyal deputy, and in 1941 when Labor returned to power he became

As army minister, Forde held responsibility for internment of enemy aliens during World War II and administration of the prisoner-of-war camps. In February 1942, following mounting concerns over a possible Japanese invasion, he authorised a mass round-up of enemy aliens in Queensland – primarily Italians – and imposed a curfew on any enemy aliens in Queensland not interned.^[19] In the same month Forde delegated authority to the army's Northern Command to detain all enemy aliens suspected of "anti-British sentiment".^[20] His use of "master warrants" to detain enemy aliens brought him into conflict with attorney-general H. V. Evatt, a civil libertarian, who concluded some internments were "unjustified or frivolous".^[21] Forde did begin to release enemy alien internees in 1944 on the grounds they were needed for food production, although many remained in detention until the end of the war.^[22] He supported the principle that detainees could become naturalised citizens after the war's end,^[23] and also opposed suggestions that Japanese prisoners-of-war who died in Australia should not be buried in the same cemeteries as Australians.^[24]

In March 1942, Forde authorised the internment of twenty people connected with the

In April 1945, Forde left Australia to attend the

On the day that Curtin died, Forde issued a brief statement announcing the death, and then in the afternoon moved a condolence motion at a brief sitting of parliament. On the morning of the following day, 6 July, he led a procession of MPs past Curtin's coffin at Parliament House, where his body was lying in state. In the afternoon, Forde attended a memorial service, and then went to Government House, where he was formally sworn in as prime minister by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the Governor-General. He was appointed as prime minister with the understanding that he would resign if the Labor Party elected someone other than him as leader at its next caucus meeting. Forde was the Labor Party's sixth prime minister. He is the only Australian prime minister to have never led a political party. There was little precedent for his appointment, as only one previous prime minister (Joseph Lyons) had died in office, and Lyons had been succeeded by the leader of the smaller party in his governing coalition (Earle Page).^[28]

On 8 July, Forde accompanied Elsie Curtin to Perth to attend her husband's funeral. Two days later, Ben Chifley told him that he would be contesting the leadership; that evening, they both issued statements announcing their candidacies. Norman Makin announced his intention to stand the following day. On the morning of 12 July, Les Haylen informed Forde that he did not have the numbers to win. In response, Forde said "I must say a little prayer for Ben. It's not an easy job". In the leadership ballot, Chifley received 45 votes to Forde's 16, Makin's seven, and Evatt's two. Several MPs were absent (including Evatt), and Rowley James unsuccessfully proposed that the ballot be postponed. Forde resigned as prime minister on 13 July, after one week in office. He is Australia's shortest-serving prime minister.^[28]

Chifley government, 1945–1946

After losing the leadership contest to Chifley, Forde was re-elected unopposed as deputy leader. He remained Minister for the Army and Minister for Defence, having assumed the latter portfolio after Curtin's death. As the Pacific War ended on 15 August, Forde's primary responsibility was to oversee the demobilisation of the Australian military. At this time service men and women were spread around the country and across the Pacific. He handled the issue in a way that was unpopular with the general public, refusing appeals to release servicemen early but also making public statements about the rate of demobilisation that turned out to be inaccurate.^[18] At the 1946 election, Forde unexpectedly lost his seat to the Liberal candidate Charles Davidson, a returned soldier. He suffered a 10-point swing against him, compared with a nationwide 0.2-point swing against the Labor Party. As well as the concerns over demobilisation, he had been criticised for moving his family to Sydney during the war and his electorate was experiencing a severe drought.^[29]

High Commissioner to Canada

In November 1946, it was announced that Forde would become the new

After returning to Australia, Forde was given a civic reception at Brisbane City Hall by Lord Mayor Frank Roberts.^[37] He was soon invited to re-enter federal politics by Arthur Calwell, on behalf of the party's federal leader H. V. Evatt.^[38] In August 1953 he accepted an appointment as paid organiser for the ALP in Queensland.^[39]

In February 1954, Forde nominated for ALP preselection for the Division of Wide Bay, following the withdrawal of the previous endorsed candidate.^[40] He was defeated at the 1954 federal election, in a seat which the Country Party had held since 1928. In 1955, at a by-election, he returned to the Queensland Parliament as MP for Flinders.^[41] He is the only Prime Minister who later served in a State Parliament.

At the

In 1962, Forde was nominated for Labor preselection for the Senate vacancy caused by the death of Max Poulter. He received three out of 66 votes in the ballot,^[44] with his age probably a factor in his low tally.^[45]

Forde retired to Brisbane where he devoted himself to Catholic charity work. In his living room hung a large portrait of wartime US General Douglas MacArthur. On 11 April 1964, at the request of Prime Minister Robert Menzies, Forde represented Australia at MacArthur's funeral in Norfolk, Virginia.^[41][46]

Forde died in 1983. He was accorded a state funeral which, on 3 February, proceeded from St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in St Lucia to the Toowong Cemetery,^[47] the same day that Bob Hawke was elected ALP leader. Indeed, it was at Forde's funeral that Senator John Button told then Labor leader Bill Hayden that he must step aside in favor of Hawke, which he did. Forde was the last surviving member of the Scullin, Curtin and his own Cabinet. Furthermore, he was the last surviving MP from when Stanley Bruce was prime minister.

Forde was the only deputy Labor leader who served under three leaders (Scullin, Curtin and Chifley) until Jenny Macklin (Crean, Latham and Beazley, 2001–2006). The electoral Division of Forde and the Canberra suburb of Forde are named after him.

Personal life

Forde married Veronica (Vera) Catherine O'Reilly in 1925 and they had four children:^[48]

• Mary Therese (1927–2016)
• Mercia (b. 1930)
• Clare (1932–2010)
• Francis Gerard Forde (1935–1966); his widow, Leneen Forde, became Governor of Queensland.

Forde was widowed in November 1967.^[49] During the years that he spent in Ottawa as High Commissioner to Canada two of his daughters (Mary and Mercia) became married to Canadians. Mary (m. William Robert Thompson) eventually settled with her husband in Kingston, Ontario, Canada while Mercia (m. Ian Ferrier) returned to Australia and settled with her husband in St. Lucia, Brisbane. Francis Gerald Forde (m. Leneen Forde) also settled in St. Lucia, while Clare (m. John Attridge) settled in Canberra. Between their four children, Frank and Vera Forde had 15 grandchildren.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Forde Ministry

References

• Forde, Francis Michael – Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search

Further reading

• Brown, Elaine (2000). "Francis Michael Forde". In
  ISBN 1-86436-671-0
  .
• Carroll, Brian, Australia's Prime Ministers: From Barton to Howard, Rosenberg Publishing, 2004,
  ISBN 1-877058-22-X
• Gibson, D. A. (1973). The Right Hon. Francis M. Forde PC (B.A.(Hons) thesis)). University of Queensland.
• ISBN 0-19-550471-2

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Forde.

• "Francis Forde". Australia's Prime Ministers. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
• Saunders, Malcolm; Lloyd, Neil. "Forde, Francis Michael (Frank) (1890–1983)".
  OCLC 70677943
  . Retrieved 29 June 2010.
• "Frank Forde". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 14 February 2022.

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by William Higgs	Member for Capricornia 1922–1946	Succeeded by Charles Davidson
Political offices
Preceded by James Fenton	Minister for Trade and Customs 1931–1932	Succeeded by Henry Somer Gullett
Preceded by Percy Spender	Minister for the Army 1941–1946	Succeeded by Cyril Chambers
Preceded by John Curtin	Prime Minister of Australia 1945	Succeeded by Ben Chifley
	Minister for Defence 1945–1946	Succeeded by John Dedman
Party political offices
Preceded by Edward Theodore	Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party 1932–1946	Succeeded by Herbert Evatt
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Alfred Stirling	Australian High Commissioner to Canada 1946–1953	Succeeded by Sir Douglas Copland
Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by John Adamson	Member for Rockhampton 1917–1922	Succeeded by George Farrell
Preceded by Ernest Riordan	Member for Flinders 1955–1957	Succeeded by Bill Longeran