James Drake (politician)

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Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Enoggera
In office
12 May 1888 – 7 December 1899
Preceded byJames Dickson
Succeeded byMatthew Reid
Personal details
Born
James George Drake

(1850-04-26)26 April 1850
English Australian
Political partyProtectionist Party
Other political
affiliations
Opposition (Queensland)
Spouse
Mary Street
(m. 1897⁠–⁠1924)
Occupation

James George Drake (26 April 1850 – 1 August 1941), often cited as J. G. Drake, was an Australian politician. After a number of years in

Postmaster-General (1901–1903), Minister for Defence (1903), Attorney-General (1903–1904), and Vice-President of the Executive Council
(1904–1905).

Early life

Drake was born on 26 April 1850 in

jackaroo in western Queensland.[2]

Journalism and legal career

Drake in 1889

In 1875, Drake began working as a journalist with the Bundaberg Star. He subsequently moved to the

Argus.[2] Upon his return to Queensland he joined the staff of Hansard, making use of his shorthand skills in transcribing debates in the colonial parliament; he was president of the Queensland Shorthand Writers' Association.[1]

Drake began reading law in May 1881 and was admitted to the bar in June 1882. He established a "flourishing practice" in partnership with Magnus Jensen. His radical views led to a friendship with the utopian socialist William Lane, and in 1887 he became a shareholder, writer, and joint editor of Lane's weekly newspaper The Boomerang.[1]

Military service

Drake was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Queensland Defence Force in 1886, and promoted to captain in 1888 and major in 1900.[3][4][5]

Colonial politics

Drake in 1899

Drake was a member of the

federal parliament.[1][6]

Federal politics

Drake c. 1900

After

Postmaster-General on 5 February 1901. He was elected to the Senate as a Protectionist at the inaugural federal election held the following month.[2]

Drake was tasked with establishing a national post and telegraph system from the six existing colonial systems. He secured the passage of the Post and Telegraph Act 1901, in his

second reading speech expressing the need for non-discrimination in the provision of services and the advantages of a publicly owned telegraph service. He was generally regarded as a competent administrator,[2] although his appointment of Queenslander Robert Scott as the inaugural head of the Postmaster-General's Department led to accusation of state bias. Punch regarded him as "a plodder – thorough rather than brilliant".[1]

Following a reshuffle in August 1903, Drake replaced John Forrest as Minister for Defence. He held the position for only six weeks, as Attorney-General Alfred Deakin replaced Barton as prime minister the following month and appointed Drake as his successor. He presented the Commonwealth's arguments in D'Emden v Pedder, one of the first significant constitutional cases decided by the High Court of Australia.[1] Drake was a strong supporter of the White Australia policy. Days before the 1903 federal election, in response to the Petriana affair, he stated that its provisions should even extend to shipwrecked sailors. The Argus reported he had told an election meeting in Sydney:[7]

It was undesirable that educated gentlemen who had been in gaol, or coloured men who had been shipwrecked, should land in Australia in defiance of the law. They intended to keep their race pure, and make Australia a place worth living in.

Deakin's first government fell in April 1904. After a brief interlude of Australian Labor Party (ALP) government led by Chris Watson, opposition leader George Reid formed a coalition government of his Free Traders and the Protectionists willing to support him. Drake joined the government as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate, holding office until the government fell in July 1905. He was not invited to join the Second Deakin ministry, although in January 1906 he established Commonwealth, a broadsheet designed to counter anti-federation feeling in Queensland. He lost preselection prior to the 1906 federal election, and decided to retire from federal politics rather than stand for re-election as an independent.[2]

Affiliation

Drake was a founding member of Brisbane's Johnsonian Club.[8]

Later life

Drake stood for the Queensland state seat of North Brisbane in 1907, but only gained 137 votes.[1] He was state crown prosecutor from 1910 to 1920 and in 1912 was appointed Acting Deputy Judge of the District Court of Queensland.[9]

Death

He died in Brisbane Hospital and was buried in Toowong Cemetery.[10] He was the last surviving member of the Barton, Reid and the first Deakin Cabinet. Drake was survived by four children from his marriage to Mary Street in 1897.[1]

References

External links

 

Political offices
Preceded by
James Dickson & Robert Bulcock
(dual-member constituency)
Legislative Assembly of Queensland
Electoral district of Enoggera

12 May 1888 – 7 December 1899
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Legislative Council of Queensland

7 December 1899 – 13 May 1901
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Postmaster-General

1901–1903
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Attorney General

1903–1904
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Defence
1901–1903
Succeeded by
Preceded by Vice-President of the Executive Council
1904–1905
Succeeded by