Sir Thomas Bavin | |
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| 24thPremier of New South Wales | |
| In office 18 October 1927 – 4 November 1930 | |
| Preceded by | Jack Lang |
| Succeeded by | Jack Lang |
| Constituency | Gordon (1917–20) Ryde (1920–27) Gordon (1927–35) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Rainsford Bavin (1874-05-05)5 May 1874 Kaiapoi,Canterbury, New Zealand |
| Died | 31 August 1941(1941-08-31) (aged 67) Bellevue Hill,New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Nationalist |
| Spouse | Edyth Winchcombe |
| Education | Newington College University of Sydney |
Sir Thomas Rainsford Bavin,KCMG, KC (5 May 1874 – 31 August 1941) was an Australian lawyer and politician who served asPremier of New South Wales from 1927 to 1930. He was born in New Zealand and arrived in Australia at the age of 15, where he studied law and became abarrister. He served as personal secretary to Australia's first two prime ministers,Edmund Barton andAlfred Deakin. Bavin was elected to theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1917. He served two terms asAttorney General of New South Wales (1921, 1922–1925) before leading theNationalist Party to victory at the1927 state election, in a coalition with theCountry Party. His predecessorJack Lang and theAustralian Labor Party (ALP) defeated his government after a single term at the1930 state election.
Born inKaiapoi,New Zealand to aMethodist minister and his wife, Bavin was educated atAuckland Grammar School until 1889 when his family moved toSydney and Bavin enrolled atNewington College (1889–1890).[1] Hissiblings were: Edna (Mrs Charles Lack); Jessie (Mrs Ambrose Fletcher); Gertrude (MrsWilliam Parker); MajorCyril Bavin OBE; Horace Bavin; Florence Bavin (Mrs Ernest Warren); Lancelot Bavin; and Dora Bavin (MrsLeslie Allen).[2] At theUniversity of Sydney he came into conflict with his parents by renouncing Methodism (he later converted toAnglicanism), and graduated with aBA in 1894 andLL.B. in 1897, winning the University Medal in the process.[3]
Called to theNew South Wales Bar in 1897, Bavin became involved in the cause ofAustralian Federation, unsuccessfully standing for theLegislative Assembly seat ofCanterbury on a pro-Federation platform in 1898. After lecturing in law at theUniversity of Tasmania in 1900 where he was acting professor of law,[4] Bavin returned to Sydney to marry Edyth Winchcombe, the daughter ofFrederick Winchcombe, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly andCouncil, on 6 February 1901.[3]
Bavin first metEdmund Barton during their shared involvement in the federation movement.[5] In 1901, after a chance encounter at anAlbury railway station, Barton appointed him as his private secretary in place ofAtlee Hunt, who had received a promotion.[6] Bavin found Barton easily distracted and unable or willing to deal with routine administrative matters, later recalling that "having done his greatest work Barton was no longer very interested in the result".[7] When Barton resigned to become a judge on theHigh Court, Bavin became hisassociate but also continued on as private secretary to Barton's successorAlfred Deakin.[3]
Bavin returned to the Bar in 1904 but found briefs scarce and so began writing op-ed pieces for Sydney newspapers, and, along with Deakin, serve as the Australian correspondent for the LondonMorning Post from 1907 to 1911.[8] In 1913, he inquired into food supplies and prices and went to sea on the trawlers to investigate pricing of fish in detail. He recommended an anti-monopoly bureau that could investigate prices and recommend prosecutions. Bavin was elected as an alderman toWilloughby Municipal Council in 1910.[3] WhenWorld War I broke out he became a naval intelligence officer.[4]
Bavin's attempts to enter federal parliament were thwarted, thrice losingCommonwealth Liberal Party pre-selection, due partly to his support for greater social welfare expenditure. He gained pre-selection for the Legislative Assembly seat ofAlbury in 1916 but the election wasdeferred until 1917, when he was elected as theNationalist Party member forGordon, a seat which he held until 1935, except during the period ofproportional representation (1920–1927) when he was a member forRyde.[3][9]
Following his election, Bavin rapidly rose through the parliamentary ranks, becoming deputy leader of the Nationalists in October 1920 and serving as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice in 1921 andAttorney-General of New South Wales from 1922 to 1925. After the Nationalist loss at the1925 election, Bavin was elected party leader, and therefore Leader of the Opposition.
Following an agreement by the Nationalist andCountry parties not to stand candidates against each other, the coalition won the1927 election and Bavin became Premier and Treasurer on 18 October 1927.
During his term as Premier, Bavin introduced theIncome Tax (Management) Act (1928), under which the incomes of husband and wife were combined, and a progressive tax system was introduced, angering many of his conservative supporters. In reaction toLabor Party calls to abolish the Legislative Council, Bavin pushed through legislation requiring a referendum to do so.
Bavin was plagued by ill-health throughout his Premiership, meaning that he was absent him from Cabinet during crucial times, especially in the wake of theGreat Depression after 1929. Faced with a growing number of strikes, Bavin turned to non-unionised labour, which led to violent confrontations between striking workers and police, notably theRothbury riot in December 1929.
Following the Nationalists' loss in the1930 election, Bavin continued to lead the party until 1932, when he joined the newly createdUnited Australia Party. Appointed KCMG in 1933, Bavin retired from politics in 1935 to serve as a Justice of theNew South Wales Supreme Court. Bavin also returned to writing, authoring a number of books, includingThomas Rainsford Bavin: Extracts from his Speeches from 1923 until 1932 (1933), andSirHenry Parkes: His Life and Work (1941).
Bavin died ofcancer in the Sydney suburb ofBellevue Hill, survived by his wife, son and three daughters.[3] His well-attended funeral was held atSt. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney on 2 September 1941. He was later cremated atNorthern Suburbs Crematorium.[10]
Bavin was appointedKCMG in 1933.[8][11]
In 2021 Bavin house atNewington College was named after him.
| New South Wales Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member for Gordon 1917–1920 | District abolished |
| Preceded by | Member for Ryde 1920–1927 With:Anderson,Greig,Henley,Loxton/Sanders | Succeeded by |
| New district | Member for Gordon 1927–1935 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of New South Wales 1921 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Justice 1921 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Attorney General of New South Wales 1922–1925 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition of New South Wales 1925–1927 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Premier of New South Wales 1927–1930 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales 1927–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonial Secretary of New South Wales 1929 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition of New South Wales 1930–1932 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Nationalist Party 1925–1931 | Merged intoUAP |
| New political party | Leader of the United Australia Party 1931–1932 | Succeeded by |
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