European Statesmen & Prime Ministers Codexery

Henry Parkes

Colonial politician and early advocate for Australian federation.

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Sir Henry Parkes was a colonial Australian politician who served as the longest non-consecutive premier of the Colony of New South Wales.[1] He is often called the "Father of Federation" for his early promotion of uniting the six Australian colonies.[2] Parkes passed away in 1896, which was five years prior to the completion of the federation process.[3]

Life and work

He received little formal education but educated himself by reading extensively as a young adult.[4][5] In 1835 he wrote poems addressed to Clarinda Varney, and they married on 11 July 1836.[5] After losing two children and an unsuccessful period in London, Parkes and his wife emigrated to New South Wales aboard the Strathfieldsaye, arriving at Sydney on 25 July 1839.[3] He worked as a labourer on the Regentville estate near Penrith, earning £25 a year plus food rations.[3]

The Reserve Bank of Australia notes that his image appears on the Federation $5 banknote issued in 2001.[6] Henry Parkes entered the world in Canley, a location now part of Coventry in Warwickshire, England, and his baptism took place in Stoneleigh, a neighboring village.[4] Thomas Parkes, Henry's father, worked as a tenant farmer on a small scale, while his mother, Martha Falconbridge, passed away in the year 1842.[4] The Tenterfield Oration, a well-known speech by Parkes given in 1889, resulted in a federal conference occurring in 1890 and a Constitutional Convention taking place in 1891.[7]

What the cited sources add

The Henry Parkes Foundation website states that the inaugural Henry Parkes Oration was delivered by Gordon Samuels on 24 October 2001 in the same hall at Tenterfield where Parkes spoke.[8] The Foundation notes that the 2015 oration was delivered by Dr Georgina Willetts, a nursing educator and great great granddaughter of Henry Parkes.[8] The Reserve Bank of Australia account describes Parkes as a prominent politician often referred to as the "Father of Federation".[6] The Foundation website records that the 2004 oration was delivered by Dr Neal Blewett at the National Library in Canberra on the theme of a presidential republic.[8]

The Foundation states that the 2021 oration was delivered live online on 24 October 2021, 132 years after Parkes's historic call for Federation.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Henry Parkes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Martin, "Parkes, Sir Henry (1815–96)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Henry Parkes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Federation.", Australian Government; Green, "Centenary of the First NSW Labor Government", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 20 October 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Henry Parkes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Martin, "Parkes, Sir Henry (1815–96)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Henry Parkes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Burial of Sir Henry Parkes an impressive ceremony", Australian Town and Country Journal, 9 May 1896, p. 20 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Henry Parkes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The Oxford Book of Australian Letters; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "Other Banknotes", Reserve Bank of Australia Banknotes. facts only, no text reused. banknotes.rba.gov.au
  7. Wikipedia, "Henry Parkes" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "Orations", The Henry Parkes Foundation, 3 January 2014. facts only, no text reused. parkesfoundation.org.au

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Henry Parkes (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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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year did Henry Parkes die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1896.

2. In what year was Henry Parkes born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1815.

3. In which place was Henry Parkes born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Coventry, Warwickshire, England.

Answers checked against the source article

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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