Sir Charles Sladen, (28 August 1816 – 22 February 1884), Australian colonial

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, was the 6th

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assemb ...

. Sladen was born in

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near

Walmer Walmer is a town in the district of Dover, Kent, in England. Located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is south-east of Sandwich, Kent. Largely residential, its coastline and castle attract many visitors. It has a population of 6,693 (2001), i ...

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, the second son of John Baker Sladen, deputy-lieutenant of the county. He was educated at Shrewsbury and later at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

. In 1840, he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB). He migrated to Australia in 1841, and in February 1842 arrived in the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

(later

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

). He was soon admitted to the Victorian bar, and practised as a solicitor in Geelong until 1854, when he took up farming near

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The ...

. In 1840 he married Harriet Amelia Orton. In 1851–52 he played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

for

. On 28 November 1855 Sladen was nominated to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative C ...

, and was appointed acting

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

. When Victoria gained responsible government in 1856, Sladen was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

as Member for Geelong, and became Treasurer in the ministry of

William Haines Charles William Haines (January 2, 1900 – December 26, 1973) was an American actor and interior designer. Haines was discovered by a talent scout and signed with Goldwyn Pictures in 1922. His career gained momentum when he received favo ...

, a position he held until March 1857. He advocated the creation of a public bank and increased immigration. Sladen did not contest the 1859 election and contested but lost the 1861 election for Geelong East. A firm conservative, Sladen re-entered politics in November 1864 when he was elected to the Legislative Council for

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

in a by-election. When the liberal Premier

James McCulloch Sir James McCulloch, (18 March 1819 – 31 January 1893), British colonial politician, was the fifth Premier of Victoria. Early life McCulloch was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of George McCulloch, a quarry master a ...

resigned in May 1868 during the conflict between the government and the Council over the proposed grant to retiring

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Charles Darling, Sladen was asked by the new Governor, Sir John Manners-Sutton, to form a government. Sladen found himself in a hopeless situation, since he was a member of the upper house at a time when it was increasingly accepted that the leader of the government must come from the Assembly – he is the only member of the Council ever to serve as Premier. Since he had little support in the Assembly, his government had no prospect of long-term survival. Following the resolution of the Darling grant crisis, he stepped down in July, and in September he retired from the council. In September 1876 Sladen was again elected to the Council for Western Province, and became the ''de facto'' leader of the Council in its conflicts with the Assembly. Despite being very conservative, Sladen recommended that the franchise for the Council be extended, and that the property qualifications for membership be reduced. These reforms were enacted in 1881. Sladen retired in 1882 due to poor health and died in 1884 in Geelong. Sladen was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1875. A portrait of him hangs in the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

in Melbourne.

References

*Geoff Browne, ''A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900–84'', Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985 *Don Garden, ''Victoria: A History'', Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1984 *Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle, ''A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856–1900'', Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972 * Raymond Wright, ''A People's Counsel. A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856–1990'', Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sladen, Charles 1816 births 1884 deaths 19th-century Australian lawyers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Politicians awarded knighthoods Premiers of Victoria Politicians from Geelong Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge English emigrants to colonial Australia People from Walmer Victoria (Australia) state politicians Australian cricketers Victoria cricketers Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers Australian sportsperson-politicians 19th-century Australian politicians Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Treasurers of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly