Richard Chaffey Baker

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President of the Australian Senate
In office
9 May 1901 – 31 December 1906
Succeeded byAlbert Gould
Senator for South Australia
In office
30 March 1901 – 31 December 1906
Personal details
Born(1842-06-22)22 June 1842
Colony of South Australia
Died18 March 1911(1911-03-18) (aged 68)
Norton Summit, South Australia
Political partyNational Defence League
Spouse
Katherine Colley
​
​
(m. 1865⁠–⁠1908)​
RelationsJohn Baker (father)
Bessie Anstice Baker (sister)
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
OccupationBarrister

Sir Richard Chaffey Baker

President of the Australian Senate from 1901 to 1906. A noted federalist, he was the son of one-time Premier of South Australia John Baker
.

Early life

Baker was born on 22 June 1841 in

North Adelaide, South Australia.[1] He was the oldest son of twelve children – including younger sister Bessie – born to Isabella (née Allan) and John Baker,[2] who had settled in South Australia in 1839 after marrying in Van Diemen's Land the previous year. His father was born in Somerset, England, and had a variety of business and agricultural interests. He was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council in 1851 and served briefly as premier in 1857.[3]

Baker was sent to England to be educated, attending

Queen's Counsel in 1900 was somewhat controversial.[1]

Colonial politics

Parliament House portrait of Baker by Alexander Colquhoun, 1914

Baker began developing a successful career as a barrister, but in 1868, at the age of 26, decided to stand for the state lower house of parliament, the House of Assembly, in the seat of Barossa. The campaign was successful, as he topped the poll, and thus took one of the two Barossa seats in the House of Assembly.[4]

Baker earned an M.A. in 1870, and was appointed as

Labor Party
.

Federation movement

Baker, chairman of the 1897–98 Australasian Federal Convention.

Baker took a strong interest in the proposed federation of the Australian colonies in the 1880s and 1890s, and prepared A Manual of Reference to Authorities for the Use of the Members of the Sydney Constitutional Convention, which was published early in 1891 and distributed at the convention of that year. It influenced to some extent the first draft of the Constitution of Australia, which was drawn up as a result of the 1891 convention. Baker continued his involvement throughout the decade, and was elected as a representative of South Australia at the 1897 convention, where he served as chairman of committees and as a member of the constitutional committee.

Baker has been identified as one of the first to characterise the Australian federation as a crowned republic, although he did not use that term.[5] In 1891, he argued for the adoption of a "republican system" when Australia federated,[6] and cited pre-existing federal republics as a model for the new constitution.[7] However, he supported the Queen as head of state and argued against the direct election of the governor-general.[8] According to McKenna (1997), Baker "proudly proclaimed his loyalty to the Queen in the same breath as he declared himself a republican", with his conception of republican government based not on "absence of monarchy, but in the rule of law, the separation of powers, balanced government, and the sovereignty of the people".[9]

Federal politics

Baker as President of the Senate

Baker was elected to the Senate at the inaugural

British House of Commons, initiating the publication of "president's rulings" as a source of precedent for his successors.[2]

As per

section 23 of the constitution, Baker exercised a full deliberative vote as president, although he "refused to take sides in the debates between free traders and protectionists".[1] He occasionally made speeches on political matters, such as speaking against proportional representation during the debate on the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902. He stated that it was difficult to reconcile the independence of the president with the political responsibilities of an ordinary senator.[2] In 1903, Baker represented Australia at the Delhi Durbar where King Edward VII was crowned Emperor of India.[1] He was re-elected as president in March 1904, following the 1903 election,[2] and "was widely respected for his fairness, decision and ability".[1] He retired from the Senate at the expiry of his term on 31 December 1906, citing ill health.[2]

Personal life

On 23 December 1865 he married Katherine Edith Colley (c. 1845–1908), who predeceased him, and was survived by two sons (J. R. Baker LLD and R. C. Baker) and a daughter (Miss Edith Baker).

R. B. Colley, first mayor of Glenelg
.

He was for many years chairman of the jockey club at Morphettville. He had large pastoral interests and was involved in the development of copper mining in the state. He was created a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1886 and was knighted KCMG in 1895.

References

  1. ^
    ISSN 1833-7538
    . Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Kerley, Margot (2000). "Baker, Sir Richard Chaffey (1841–1911)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Vol. 1. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. ISSN 1833-7538
    . Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Hon Sir Richard Baker KCMG KC". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  5. ^ McKenna 1997, p. 54.
  6. ^ McKenna 1997, p. 58.
  7. ^ McKenna 1997, p. 56.
  8. ^ McKenna 1997, p. 60.
  9. ^ McKenna 1997, p. 53.
  10. The Register
    . Trove. 11 December 1906. p. 6. Retrieved 25 April 2012.

Further reading

 

Parliament of Australia
New title
President of the Australian Senate

1901–1906 		Succeeded by
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