Sir Edward Braddon | |
|---|---|
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| 18th Premier of Tasmania | |
| In office 14 April 1894 – 12 October 1899 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Dobson |
| Succeeded by | Elliott Lewis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1829-06-11)11 June 1829 |
| Died | 2 February 1904(1904-02-02) (aged 74) Leith, Tasmania, Australia |
| Political party | Free Trade Party |
| Children | Six |
Sir Edward Nicholas Coventry BraddonKCMG (11 June 1829 – 2 February 1904) was an Australian politician who served asPremier of Tasmania from 1894 to 1899, and was a Member of the First Australian Parliament in theHouse of Representatives. Braddon was a Tasmaniandelegate to theConstitutional Conventions.
Both the suburb ofBraddon in theAustralian Capital Territory and theDivision of Braddon in Tasmania are named after him.
Braddon was born inSt. Kew, Cornwall in 1829,[1] the son of unsuccessful solicitor Henry Braddon and his wife Fanny White. He had two sisters, one of whom,Mary Elizabeth Braddon, was later a famous novelist. Braddon was educated at various private schools includingUniversity College School, and later atUniversity College London.
Henry and Fanny separated in 1840, due to Henry's financial failures, and in 1847, Braddon left forIndia to take a job with hiscousin's merchant business. He later joined the Indian civil service, rising to the position of assistant commissioner, and serving as Inspector-General of Registration and Commissioner of Excise and Stamps.
Braddon married Mary Georginia Palmer on 24 October 1857 in Calcutta, India. She died aged 24 on 28 July 1864 at Simla, Bengal, India. They had two sons and four daughters. One of these sons was SirHenry Yule Braddon, who was a rugby union player, representingNew Zealand (theAll Blacks) andNew South Wales, and was later a Commissioner (ambassador) for Australia in the United States. Daughter Alice Gertrude married Colonel Bernard UnderwoodNicolay.
In 1876, Braddon married Alice Smith, who survived him.
During theIndian Rebellion of 1857, Braddon fought as a volunteer on behalf of the British forces. In 1872, Braddon wrote a memoir detailing his experiences in India, entitledLife in India. He left the Indian civil service in 1878 and retired to Tasmania.
In 1879, Braddon was elected to theTasmanian House of Assembly in theDivision of West Devon, and he represented that constituency until November 1888. He becameleader of the opposition in 1886 and after the defeat of theJames Agnew government, he was asked to form a cabinet. However, he resigned thepremiership toPhilip Fysh, and instead became Minister for Lands and Works.
In 1888, Braddon represented Tasmania on the Federal Council, the predecessor to theConstitutional Conventions of the 1890s. After leaving parliament in 1888, Braddon was appointed Agent-General for Tasmania in London, a position he held until September 1893. While in London he helped to raise funds to float a number of ventures in Tasmania. These include theMount Lyell Mining and Railway Company.
After returning to Tasmania, Braddon was again elected the member for West Devon, and again became opposition leader. In April 1894, Braddon became Premier, and held office until 12 October 1899, the longest term of any Premier up to that date. He drew no salary while in office,[2] but a contemporary diarist, J.B. Walker, judged him "an adventurer ... not overburdened with conscience".[3]
In 1895, Braddon published another volume of memoirs, entitledThirty Years of Shikar.
Braddon was an important proponent offederation in Tasmania. He was elected as one of the Tasmanian representatives to theConstitutional Convention of 1897.
At the convention, he was responsible for the so-called "Braddon Clause" (or "Braddon Blot", as it was known by its opponents). The proposed Constitution provided that the Federal Government would assume the power to levy customs duties, an important source of revenue for the states. The Braddon Clause provided that the Commonwealth would have to return at least three-quarters of all duties collected.
After fierce debate, during whichGeorge Reid threatened to withdrawNew South Wales from the convention, the Clause was limited in operation to ten years after Federation. The now-defunct Clause is still part of theConstitution of Australia asSection 87, however it was superseded by theSurplus Revenue Act 1910.
At thefederal election of 1901, Braddon was elected to the first Australian Parliament as one of the five members for Tasmania, which had not yet been divided into electoral divisions. He was not only the oldest member of the House of Representatives, but, at almost 72 years of age, he is still the oldest person ever elected to the House of Representatives. As a supporter offree trade, he joined with Sir George Reid and became a member of theFree Trade Party, where he would occasionally stand in as Leader of the Opposition when Reid was absent. In the debates over theCommonwealth Franchise Act 1902 he spoke in favour of the disenfranchisement of Aboriginal people.[4] Braddon was re-elected at thefederal election of 1903, as the first member of theDivision of Wilmot, but he died suddenly at his home in Tasmania in 1904 before the parliament returned from recess.
Braddon is buried at Pioneer Cemetery inForth, Tasmania. In February 2004, his grave was restored and a lookout was constructed nearby to commemorate the centenary of his death.
In 1891 Braddon was made a Knight Commander of theOrder of St Michael and St George. In 1897 he was made a member of theprivy council.[5]
TheCanberra suburb ofBraddon, Australian Capital Territory was named after Sir Edward in 1928. The building housing the federal law courts in Hobart, Tasmania, is named after him.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Premier of Tasmania 1894–1899 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| New division | Member forTasmania 1901–1902 Served alongside:Cameron,Fysh,O'Malley,Piesse | Division abolished |
| Member forTasmania 1902–1903 Served alongside:Cameron,Fysh,Hartnoll,O'Malley | ||
| Preceded by Electorate created | Member forWilmot 1903–1904 | Succeeded by |
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| People | |
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