Clarence Goode (17 August 1875 – 30 April 1969) was a farmer and politician in South Australia. Descendants pronounce the family name to rhyme with "wood".

History

Clarence was born at Canowie Station the son of Thomas Goode. He was educated privately and at the Canowie Public School, then at Frederick Caterer's Glenelg Grammar School. He was for many years occupied in farming and grazing (at Laura then with Albert Powell at Booyoolie estate near

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

), and was elected Councillor for the

Corporate Town of Gladstone The Corporate Town of Gladstone was a local government area in South Australia, centred on the town of Gladstone. It was proclaimed on 8 March 1883, separating the township from the surrounding District Council of Gladstone. It was divided into th ...

in December 1902, and was returned unopposed two years later. He was for some time Chairman of the Gladstone branch of the Agricultural Bureau. At the 1905 election he was returned to the

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

at the head of the poll for

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for the

United Labor Party The South Australian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as South Australian Labor, is the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, originally formed ...

with colleagues Harry Jackson and William Cole, and was re-elected at the

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

, 1910,

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

and 1915 elections, with colleague

Peter Reidy Peter Reidy (c. 1874 – 17 January 1932) was an Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly multi-member seat of Victoria from 1915 to 1932. He was elected for the United Labor Party, joined the National P ...

. Goode joined the National Party in 1917 but left in 1918, he later clarified that he had only resigned from the parliamentary National Party. Goode opted to retire to give Reidy a clear run rather than recontest as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. He served as Commissioner of Crown Lands and Minister of Agriculture in the

Crawford Vaughan Crawford Vaughan (14 July 1874 – 15 December 1947) was an Australian politician, and the Premier of South Australia from 1915 to 1917. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1905 to 1918, representing Torrens (19 ...

Labor government from 3 April 1915 to 14 July 1917 in what was criticised as the "Family Ministry" (Attorney-General

John Howard Vaughan John Howard Vaughan CBE (14 November 1879 – 21 August 1955), known as Howard, was an Australian politician. He was a member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1912 to 1918, representing the United Labor Party (1912-1917) a ...

being the Premier's brother and Clarence his brother-in-law). Goode was one of the Vaughan Government ministers whom A. T. Saunders singled out for complicity in shady land deals, notably the purchase, from colleagues, of land at inflated prices to be passed on in 200-acre lots to

First AIF The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

soldiers ("soldier-settlers"). Goode claimed to have been largely instrumental in establishing the wartime wheat scheme, which saved the farmers of Australia at that time from financial ruin. That, and initiation of the Australian Shipping Board, brought him into close association for nearly two years with some of the most able businessmen in Australia. In 1918 he left politics, and was not a member of any political party for more than 18 years. Goode was appointed general manager of the British Australian Cotton-growing Association, a position he relinquished in November 1923 to take up cotton growing at

Miles, Queensland Miles is a rural town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Miles had a population of 1,746 people. Geography The town is on the Warrego Highway, west of Brisbane, the state capital, 211 kil ...

, in part on the recommendation of one of his brothers who had moved to that State. His experience was disappointing however, and he returned penniless to South Australia ten years later, residing in a rented house at 301 Military Road,

Henley Beach Henley Beach is a coastal suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Charles Sturt. History Henley Beach was named for the English town of Henley-on-Thames, the home town of Sir Charles Cooper, South Australia's first judge. Coope ...

. Work was scarce and he was reduced to working as a cleaner at Centennial Park Cemetery. In 1935, in the depths of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Goode stood as Independent candidate for the Central District No. 2 in a legislative council by-election. Some of the policies he advocated were:— Placing all able-bodied men in useful work at full rates or pay and more liberal pensions for those unable to work and the widowed and fatherless. Proportional representation to give substantial minorities representation in Parliament. He supported "the people's verdict on six o'clock closing of hotel bars." He advocated radical alterations to the system by constitutional methods, quoting

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

's remark that a country could not go on permitting men to vote and forcing them to tramp, nor educating boys and girls and refusing them the right to earn an honest living. E. W. Holden won the seat; Goode came a distant third. Goode subsequently found employment with A. M. Bickford and Sons. He never lost his interest in public affairs, and was a frequent contributor to the "Letters to the Editor" in '' The Advertiser''.

Family

He married Helen Ethel Miriam "Ethel" Marston ( – 8 March 1904) on 17 August 1900. They had a son on 20 May 1901 at Mt. Herbert, Gladstone, before Ethel died of tuberculosis. He married again, to Ethel's sister Hilda Anna Margaret Marston. They had a son Ray on 14 July 1909, a daughter on 14 March 1912 at Unley, another daughter on 9 December 1920 at Parkside. Goode died on 30 April 1969. His last residences were 301 Military road, Henley Beach, then 1 Murray Avenue, Koongarra Park.

References

External links

Dear Everybody (a biography of Warrant Officer Ray Goode DFM, son of Clarence Goode).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goode, Clarence Independent members of the Parliament of South Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian pastoralists 1875 births 1969 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia