European Statesmen & Prime Ministers Codexery

Edmund Barton

First prime minister of Australia and a founding father of federation.

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He was a founding member of the Sydney Rowing Club and a member of the Sydney University Cricket Club.[1] Edmund Barton, born on 18 January 1849 in Glebe, Sydney, New South Wales, was one of twelve children, being the eleventh.[2] At the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1879, a 30-year-old Barton served as umpire for a match between New South Wales and an English touring side.[3][4]

Life and work

Barton was a delegate to the March 1891 National Australasian Convention and helped produce a draft constitution.[5] Barton was appointed prime minister on 1 January 1901, the day the new federal constitution came into effect.[6] During 1863 and 1864 at Sydney Grammar School, Barton held the positions of dux and school captain.[7] The White Australia policy was enacted into law through the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, introduced by Barton's government.[8]

Barton's tenure as a High Court Justice lasted 16 years.[5]

What the cited sources add

A 2007 Sydney Morning Herald article notes that no other prime minister matched Barton's cricketing distinction as an umpire in 1879.[4] The same article states that the publicity from defusing that cricket riot reputedly helped Barton take his first step toward becoming Australia's first prime minister.[4][3] The Dictionary of Australian Biography records that Barton was on the editorial committee of the Australian Federalist in 1890.[9] That biography also notes Barton was one of New South Wales's representatives at the 1891 convention and a member of the constitutional committee.[9]

The Dictionary adds that the final drafting stages were completed by a sub-committee including Griffith, Kingston, Inglis Clark, and Barton.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Edmund Barton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "History of the Sydney Rowing Club", Sydneyrowingclub.com.au; "Fast facts: Edmund Barton", Australia's Prime Ministers; Rutledge, "Barton, Sir Edmund (Toby) (1849–1920)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Edmund Barton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bolton 2000, p. 5 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Edmund Barton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: William Coleman,Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914, Connor Court, QLD, 2021, pp 92-93.; "For our PMs, there's just no avoiding the follow-on", The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 December 2007 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. "For our PMs, there's just no avoiding the follow-on", The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 December 2007. facts only, no text reused. smh.com.au
  5. Wikipedia, "Edmund Barton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rutledge, "Barton, Sir Edmund (Toby) (1849–1920)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Edmund Barton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: La Nauze, "Alfred Deakin: A Biography", Melbourne University Press, 1962, p. 214 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Edmund Barton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bolton 2000, p. 5; William Coleman,Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914, Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.106. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Edmund Barton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McNeill, "Past–Present Differential Inclusion: Australia's Targeted Deportation of Pacific Islanders, 1901 to 2021", International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 2023, p. 42–55; "Pacific Island Labourers Act 1901", National Archives of Australia (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Serle, "Barton, Sir Edmund (1849–1920)", Dictionary of Australian Biography. facts only, no text reused. gutenberg.net.au

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Edmund Barton (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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