John Bowser
Sir John Bowser | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 26th Premier of Victoria | |
| In office 29 November 1917 – 21 March 1918 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander Peacock |
| Succeeded by | Harry Lawson |
| 13th Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 30 April 1924 – 5 March 1927 | |
| Preceded by | John Mackey |
| Succeeded by | Oswald Snowball |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 September 1856 Islington, London, England, UK |
| Died | 10 June 1936 (aged 79) Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia |
| Political party | Nationalist |
| Spouse |
Frances Rogers (m. 1914) |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Sir John Bowser (2 September 1856 – 10 June 1936),Wangaratta, where he farmed and managed the Wangaratta Chronicle, which he eventually bought.
In October 1894, Bowser was elected to the
Liberal government of Thomas Bent
in 1908–1909, but thereafter did not hold office again until he became Premier. He emerged as one of the leaders of the conservative rural faction of the Liberal Party, known as the Economy Party, concerned with getting roads and railways to their districts, cutting government expenditure, and keeping country areas over-represented in the Assembly.
In 1917, the Liberal Premier,
Labor
's 18, the Peacock Liberals' 12 and the Victorian Farmers Union's four. Peacock resigned and Bowser became Premier. He rescinded Peacock's rail fares increases, but had no answer to the larger problem of railway finances. In May 1918, he was defeated in the Assembly when all the other parties voted against a railways estimates bill.
Bowser, who had little taste for office, immediately resigned, and a Peacock Liberal,
Country Party. In 1924, he was elected Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
, which was becoming a traditional honour for former Premiers. He was knighted in 1927 and retired from politics in 1929.
In 1922, a
railway station just north of Wangaratta was named after him.[3]
References
- ^
Vines, Margaret. "Bowser, Sir John (1856–1936)". ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Sir John Bowser". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ISBN 0-85849-012-9.
- Geoff Browne, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900-84, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985
- Don Garden, Victoria: A History, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1984
- Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856-1900, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972
- Raymond Wright, A People's Counsel. A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856-1990, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992
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