Josiah Symon

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QC
Symon in 1920
Attorney-General of Australia
In office
17 August 1904 – 5 July 1905
Prime MinisterGeorge Reid
Preceded byH. B. Higgins
Succeeded byIsaac Isaacs
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
In office
5 July 1905 – 21 November 1907
Preceded byGregor McGregor
Succeeded byEdward Millen
In office
6 June 1901 – 18 August 1904
Preceded bynone
Succeeded byGregor McGregor
Leader of the Government in the Senate
In office
18 August 1904 – 5 July 1905
Preceded byGregor McGregor
Succeeded byTom Playford II
Senator for South Australia
In office
30 March 1901 – 30 June 1913
Preceded byparliament established
Succeeded byJames O'Loghlin
Attorney-General of South Australia
In office
10 March 1881 – 24 June 1881
Preceded byWilliam Henry Bundey
Succeeded byJohn Downer
Member of the South Australian House of Assembly
In office
April 1881 (1881-04) – April 1887 (1887-04)
ConstituencySturt
Personal details
Born(1846-09-27)27 September 1846
Independent
(1909–13)
Spouse
Mary Cowle
​
(m. 1881)​
OccupationBarrister, politician

Sir Josiah Henry Symon

KCMG KC (27 September 1846 – 29 March 1934) was an Australian lawyer and politician. He was a Senator for South Australia from 1901 to 1913 and Attorney-General of Australia
from 1904 to 1905.

Symon was born in Wick, Caithness, Scotland. He immigrated to South Australia in 1866 and became one of the colony's leading barristers. He was appointed Attorney-General of South Australia in 1881, serving only a few months, and won election to the Parliament of South Australia in the same year. Symon supported the federation movement and won election to the Senate at the 1901 federal election. He served as Attorney-General in the Reid government (1904–1905). After his death he donated his extensive personal collection to the State Library of South Australia.

Early life

Symon was born in

Wick, a town in the county of Caithness in the Scottish Highlands, in 1846. He was educated at Stirling High School, where he was the dux in 1862, before attending the Free Church Training College in Edinburgh.[1] His brother, David Symon, was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia.[2] He was a distant cousin of Magnus Cormack, who was also born in Wick and served as President of the Senate in the 1970s.[3]

In 1866 he emigrated to South Australia and was employed as an

Chief Justice of South Australia), Samuel Way, noticed Symon's work and invited him to join his firm. Symon, having completed his studies, was called to the bar in 1871, and admitted to practice as a barrister
. In 1872, after the death of one of the partners at Way's firm, Symon became a partner alongside Way. In 1876, Way was appointed as a judge, and Symon bought out his part of the business.

Colonial politics

Symon c. 1881

In March 1881, Symon was made

British House of Commons
, however he declined this opportunity also. In 1887, after returning to Australia, he lost his seat in the South Australian parliament.

He was a highly effective and ruthless advocate: in 1889 he successfully prosecuted the

The Narracoorte Herald. In his highly technical argument he succeeded in having evidence from Hansard and Crown Law documents ruled as inadmissible. Ash (who conducted his own defence) then turned to politics and law, and after his untimely death received glowing tributes from Symon.[4]

Symon was an ardent supporter of the cause of Federation, and frustrated by the apathy the question commonly received in South Australia. He successfully stood as a candidate for the Australasian Federal Convention of 1897-8, and was on the side of the majority in 71 percent of its divisions; a higher percentage than the great bulk of delegates.[5] In the subsequent struggle to win the support of the electorate for the proposed federal constitution, he was a significant behind the scenes player, sought out by Alfred Deakin, for example, to arrange funding for Federationist candidates in the NSW general election of 1898.[6] Symon was knighted on the day of the proclamation of the new Commonwealth.

Federal politics

Undated photo

Symon stood for election to the

Reid Ministry.[7]

Symon was renowned as a tough and uncompromising politician. He has been described as both an "eloquent and emotional speaker" and often "abrasive and argumentative."

Royal Empire Society, he was an outspoken opponent of James Scullin's nomination of Isaacs as Governor-General of Australia
.

After visiting the future site of Canberra in August 1906, Symon joined those supporting it as the location of the national capital, stating that "the site seems to me an ideal one".[9]

In 1909, when the Free Trade Party and the

Commonwealth Liberal Party, Symon was one of a small group of politicians who did not join, instead remaining in Parliament as an independent. Symon did not hold any other ministerial positions, and eventually left the Senate after losing his seat in the 1913 election
. He continued to practice as a barrister until his retirement in 1923 at the age of seventy-seven.

Death and recognition

Caricature by Will Dyson

Symon died in 1934, and was given a state funeral. He was survived by his wife, his five sons and five of his seven daughters. In addition to bequeathing his library, Symon also left money for the establishment of scholarships at the University of Sydney, Scotch College in Adelaide and Stirling High School, which he had attended in his youth.

The Canberra suburb of Symonston is named for him.

The

Woods, Bagot, Jory and Laybourne-Smith and built in 1927 as part of the Union Buildings at the University of Adelaide, was named after his wife.[10]

Philanthropy

Symon was a lover of history and literature, and was nominated as a founding member of the Parliamentary Library Committee, which oversees the

Boston in the United States. Though unsuccessful, Symon continued the campaign on his return to Australia, and in 1909 moved a resolution in the Senate to call for the logs to be brought to Australia. Although the logs were never given to Australia, the original copy of the Constitution of Australia was brought to Australia in 1990, after campaigning by Prime Minister Bob Hawke in a tradition which historians link to Symon.[8]

Symon had a massive personal collection of approximately ten thousand books, which he ultimately bequeathed to the

Shakespeare were published in pamphlet form.[citation needed
]

References

  1. ISSN 1833-7538
    . Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  2. ^ David Symon – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  3. ^ Browne, Geoffrey (2010). "CORMACK, Sir Magnus Cameron (1906–1994)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  4. The Millicent Times
    . 27 February 1897. p. 3. Retrieved 24 September 2015 – via Trove.
  5. ^ William Coleman,Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914, Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.306.
  6. ^ William Coleman,Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914, Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.415.
  7. ^ Wright, Don (2000). "Symon, Sir Josiah Henry (1846–1934)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b "The quest for the nation's title deeds, 1901–1990". Australian Library Journal. Archived from the original on 11 February 2006. Retrieved 17 February 2006.
  9. ^ "Search for a capital". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. 21 August 1906. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2021 – via Trove.
  10. ^ City of Adelaide (25 July 2002). "Assessment of heritage value: Union Building Group, Adelaide University" (PDF). File 17619.
  11. ^ "Parliamentary Library". Parliament House of Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2006.

 

Political offices
Preceded by
H.B. Higgins
Attorney General of Australia

1904–1905 		Succeeded by
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