Sir William Elliot Johnson

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

(10 April 18628 December 1932) was an Australian politician. He was a long-serving member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

(1903–1928) and served non-consecutive terms as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

(1913–1914, 1917–1923), the first person to do so. He began his career in the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP) during the early 1890s, but was a member of the anti-Labor parties throughout his tenure in parliament.

Early life

Johnson was born at

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

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, the son of a scene-painter. He ran away from home at 13, worked in the telegraph office at London, and afterwards assisted his father scene-painting at

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theatre. He was then apprenticed on a sailing-ship and after obtaining his second mate's certificate, settled in

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 1883. He took much interest in the free-trade movement and was also a follower of

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 ...

. Johnson was an early member of the Labor Electoral League of New South Wales and served as president of its Newtown branch. He was also a contributor to the ''Labour Defence Journal''. At the 1894 general election he was an unsuccessful candidate for the seat of

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gove ...

. Johnson later left the party on the grounds that it had "turned wrongly towards socialism and state interference". He was subsequently honorary secretary of the Free Trade and Liberal Association of New South Wales.

Politics

Portrait of Sir William Elliot Johnson, M

In December 1903 he was elected a member of the federal

for

Lang Lang may refer to: *Lang (surname), a surname of independent Germanic or Chinese origin Places * Lang Island (Antarctica), East Antarctica * Lang Nunatak, Antarctica * Lang Sound, Antarctica * Lang Park, a stadium in Brisbane, Australia * Lang, ...

. He was from 1910 to 1913 whip and secretary to the

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and was a member of the panel of Deputy Chairmen of Committees. He took much interest in the selection of the site for the federal capital, and nominated the Yass-

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

site which was eventually chosen. In 1911 he was one of the Australian parliamentary representatives at the coronation of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

. He was elected

in 1913 and held this position until after the 1914 election. He was again Speaker from June 1917 to February 1923, when William Watt was chosen for the position. Johnson was a man of great industry who made it his business to be thoroughly acquainted with the subjects under debate. He was particularly interested in the question of immigration. As Speaker he was quietly dignified, courteous and efficient. He was defeated at the 1928 general election.

Personal life

Johnson died at

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

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, in 1932. He married, but his wife died before him. He was survived by a daughter. He was created a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(KCMG) in 1920. In private life his hobby was painting and etching. A set of his etchings is at the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

, Canberra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Elliot 1862 births 1932 deaths Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Lang Members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Free Trade Party members of the Parliament of Australia Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Speakers of the Australian House of Representatives English emigrants to colonial Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Australian etchers Australian Labor Party politicians