Sir David Storey (18 August 1856 – 27 July 1924) was an Irish-born Australian politician and businessman. He was a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

from 1894 to 1920 and the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

from 1920 until his death in 1924, representing the

Free Trade Party The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states, was an Australian political party, formally organised in 1887 in New South Wales, ...

and its successors the Liberal Reform Party and Nationalist Party. He was Minister of Public Health in the Nationalist ministry of

William Holman William Arthur Holman (4 August 1871 – 5 June 1934) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1913 to 1920. He came to office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Labor Party, ...

in 1919–20.

Early life and business career

Storey was born and educated in

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the son of farmer Robert Storey and Margaret Colvin. After completing his education, he worked for softgoods merchant James Hartley in

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

and then as a representative of the firm of Lindsay Brothers Ltd. in north-western Ireland. Storey emigrated to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1879, working as a departmental manager for the firm of Ross, Morgan and Robertson. In 1881, he formed an importing firm in partnership with James C. Lindsay, a principal of his old firm in Ireland, and continued on the business as David Storey & Co. after dissolving the partnership in 1883. He became chairman of the Commercial Travellers Association of New South Wales in 1893, was chairman of the board of the Insurance Office of Australia, president of the Ulster Association of New South Wales, was a director of the Society for the Relief of Destitute Children from 1903 and was foundation president of the Bronte Surf Bathing Association in 1907. Storey was actively involved in the

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

movement, serving as secretary of the Freetrade and Land Reformist League in the 1890s.

Political career

In 1894, he was elected to the

as the

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

member for Randwick, defeating future

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to ...

. He joined the Liberal Reform Party in 1901. He led a group of 7 rebels who objected to Premier

Charles Wade Sir Charles Gregory Wade KCMG, KC, JP (26 January 1863 – 26 September 1922) was Premier of New South Wales – 21 October 1910. According to Percival Serle, "Wade was a public-spirited man of high character. His ability, honesty and coura ...

's autocratic leadership and his tactics at the 1910 election. He attempted to form a new political party, the Democratic Party, however that collapsed in October 1911 when the party refused to support a candidate to contest the Maitland by-election. Storey re-joined the Liberal Reform party before the 1913 election. In November 1916

Labor split The Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a split within the Australian Labor Party along ethnocultural An ethnoreligious group (or an ethno-religious group) is a grouping of people who are unified by a common religious and ethnic background ...

over conscription, when Premier Holman and twenty of his supporters were expelled from the party. Storey helped to establish the

grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are t ...

with Holman and his supporters and by 1917 this had coalesced into the

Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party, also known as the National Party, was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the latter formed by Prime Mini ...

, which Storey claimed to have named. He was an minister without portfolio in the

Holman Nationalist ministry Holman may refer to: People * Holman (surname), including people with the name * Holman (given name), a list of people with the name Places United States * Holman, Missouri, a former town * Holman, Texas, a settlement * Holman, Washington, a stop ...

from 1916 to 1919, when he became

Minister of Public Health The Minister for Public Health and Women's Health is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. The minister is not a member of the Scottish Cabinet, however, they report to the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care. ...

. He had reportedly declined earlier offers of a ministry in the

Carruthers ministry The Carruthers ministry was the 32nd ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 16th Premier of New South Wales, Premier, Joseph Carruthers. The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but was n ...

due to his business interests. He resigned from the ministry and from the Legislative Assembly in 1920 and was appointed to the Legislative Council four months later, serving until his death in 1924.

Personal life

He married Rachel Agnes Doig in Sydney on 4 July 1883. Storey was knighted in the

1923 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1923 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 29 December 1922. The recipients of honours are displayed here ...

. and died in

Randwick, New South Wales Randwick is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Randwi ...

from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on and was buried at

South Head Cemetery The South Head General Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery located at 793 Old South Head Road, Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1845 to 1950. It is also known as Old South Head Cemetery and the South Head Cemetery. The ...

. He was survived by his wife Rachel, daughter and 4 sons.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Storey, David 1856 births 1924 deaths Free Trade Party politicians Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian Knights Bachelor Irish emigrants to Australia