Edmund Jowett (6 January 1858 – 14 April 1936) was an Australian pastoralist and politician. He was born in England and arrived in Australia at the age of 18, eventually amassing vast pastoral holdings across Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. Jowett was elected to federal parliament at the 1917 Grampians by-election, as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

. He joined the Country Party upon its formation in 1920. He served as the party's inaugural deputy leader for just over one year, on a provisional basis under the leadership of

William McWilliams William James McWilliams (12 October 1856 – 22 October 1929) was an Australian politician who served as the inaugural leader of the Country Party, in office from 1920 to 1921. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1903 to 192 ...

Early life

Jowett was born in

Bradford, Yorkshire Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 c ...

, England, on 6 January 1858 to Joseph Jowett and Sarah, née Craven. He attended Mr James Ward's Classical School at

Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of g ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and went to his uncle's wool mill at Thornton. He migrated to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in Australia in 1876 with his father and elder brother Charles, where he worked on '' The Argus'' and contributed to the ''Australasian Banking Record''. He married Annette Rose McCallum on 24 November 1883 at East St Kilda.

Pastoralist

Jowett gradually accumulated property in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

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 ...

, eventually controlling more than forty properties including Palparara, Boorara and

Kynuna Station Kynuna Station also known as Kynuna is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Queensland, Australia. Description The station is located about north east of Middleton and south east of Julia Creek in Central West Queensland. ...

s and owned over six million acres (24,000 km²). '' The Bulletin'' stated at his death that he had owned more sheep than anyone in the world. He was appointed growers' representative on the Central Wool Committee (a wartime institution) in 1916, and also served on the Commonwealth Bureau of Commerce and Industry and the Victorian Meat Advisory Committee.

Politics

Jowett was influenced as a young man by Sir Frederick Sargood; his early political activity consists of membership of the Young Victorian Patriotic League and campaigning for conscription. In 1917 he became the first Victorian vice-president of the Nationalist Party; in the election of that year he unsuccessfully contested the seat of Maribyrnong. However, in October he won the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

for the seat of

Grampians The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian rang ...

that followed the death of Carty Salmon, and became a member of the Country Party in 1920. On 25 February 1920, Jowett was elected unopposed as the inaugural deputy leader of the Country Party, with

as leader. He did not re-contest the position when it was declared vacant on 5 April 1921, and was succeeded by Henry Gregory. His seat was abolished in 1922, and he contested Bendigo instead, but was unsuccessful. He continued to be active in the Country Party.

Later life

An advocate of electoral reform and

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

, Jowett always encouraged the immigration of Britons to Australia. He also produced a number of publications, and was a company director for some years. On 14 April 1936 he died at Strathane, one of his properties in the

district of

Leyburn Leyburn is a market town and civil parish in the district of Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England, sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'L ...

, and was buried at St Kilda. He was survived by his wife, a son and three daughters. One of his grandsons was the cabinet minister David Fairbairn.

Publications

*''The Unnatural Fall in Prices Due to Currency Legislation'' (1895) *''The Ruinous Fall in the Prices of Produce and the Prevailing Scarcity of Money'' (1894) *''Electoral reform for Australia'' (1917) *''Proportional Representation for the Senate'' (1919)

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jowett, Edmund 1858 births 1936 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Grampians 20th-century Australian politicians