John Storey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 20thPremier of New South Wales | |
| In office 13 April 1920 – 5 October 1921 | |
| Preceded by | William Holman |
| Succeeded by | James Dooley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1869-05-15)15 May 1869 Huskisson,New South Wales |
| Died | 5 October 1921(1921-10-05) (aged 52) Darlinghurst,Sydney,New South Wales,Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Labor Party |
_John_Storey_Memorial_Dispensary_1.JPG)
John Storey (15 May 1869 – 5 October 1921) was an Australian politician who wasPremier of New South Wales from 12 April 1920 until his sudden death inSydney. His leadership enabled the New South WalesLabor Party to recover after the split over conscription and to allow it to continue to be a left-wing pragmatist rather than a socialist party.
Storey was born at or nearHuskisson,New South Wales,Australia to English immigrant parents, William John, a shipbuilder, and Elizabeth Graham. His family moved toBalmain when he was six,[1] but his father died soon afterwards. He was educated at Darling Road Superior Public School and at night school. At fourteen he was apprenticed to boilermaking with Perdriau and West and then worked atMort's Dock.[2] He helped found theBalmain Cricket Club in 1897 and was a leading all-rounder for its top grade team. He was a member of the United Society of Boilermakers and Iron Ship Builders of New South Wales. In 1908 Storey was a founder of theBalmain District Rugby League Football Club.[3]
Storey joined the Labor Electoral League, the precursor of the Labor Party, on its foundation in 1891, and was elected to representBalmain North in theLegislative Assembly in 1901. Although he was an effective parliamentarian, he was beaten for election to the recreated seat ofBalmain byWalter Anderson in 1904, but defeated Anderson in 1907. TheMcGowen Labor government came to power in 1910, but Storey did not nominate for election to Cabinet.[1]
In 1916, the non-parliamentary party attempted to discipline PremierWilliam Holman, and elected a Cabinet headed by Storey on 27 April. The party reversed that decision on 4 May and Storey handed back power to Holman,[1] although legally there had never been any transfer of power. However, the split in the party widened further with the dispute overconscription and, in November, Holman, along with Prime MinisterBilly Hughes, were expelled from the party. The remnants of the Labor Party were then in opposition to Holman'sNationalist Government, but Storey refused to become party leader andErnest Durack was elected to that position. Durack resigned unexpectedly in February 1917 and Storey had no choice but to accept the leadership. His good public speaking and amiability helped to reduce the scale of Labor's defeat in the 1917 election. He worked hard in 1918 and 1919 to preventsocialists taking over the party and his policy speech for the 1920 election promised child endowment andsuburban rail electrification rather than socialism.[1]
Labor won the 1920 election with a majority of one and Storey became Premier. His thin majority, combined with a substantial minority inLegislative Council (made up of life appointees) and attacks ofnephritis made his job hard. His private secretary at this time wasV. Gordon Childe, later internationally famous in the field ofarchaeology, who wrote the bookHow Labor Governs, based on his experience as Storey's secretary. In June 1920, he appointed JudgeNorman Ewing to carry out aroyal commission in to the imprisonment oftwelve IWW members in 1916 fortreason,arson,sedition andforgery. On Ewing's recommendation, ten were released in August. In early 1921, heprorogued Parliament to prevent his Government being overthrown during a six months absence to visit financiers and aHarley Street doctor inLondon. Despite the warnings of his doctor, he undertook heavy work in London and on his return to Sydney in July.
He was admitted to hospital and died at Clermont Private Hospital,Darlinghurst and was survived by his wife, three sons and two of his three daughters.[1] His funeral service was held atSt. Andrew's Cathedral on 7 October 1921, and he was buried at the Field of Mars Cemetery inRyde the same day.[4]
In 1926, PremierJack Lang opened the John Storey Memorial Dispensary in Little Regent Street,Chippendale, New South Wales. It served as a practical memorial to John Storey and still functions as a pathology clinic.
| New South Wales Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member for Balmain North 1901–1904 | District abolished |
| Preceded by | Member for Balmain 1907–1920 | Succeeded by Himself & 4 others |
| Preceded by Himself | Member for Balmain 1920–1921 Served alongside:Doyle,Quirk,Smith,Stuart-Robertson | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Premier of New South Wales 1920–1921 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales 1917–1921 | Succeeded by |
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