Frederick Henry Francis (1881 – 15 August 1949) was an Australian politician. He was a 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 ...

from 1919 to 1925, representing the Victorian seat of

Henty Henty may refer to: Australian geography *Henty, New South Wales * Henty, Victoria * Henty (wine) an Australian geographical indicator and wine region in southwestern Victoria *Division of Henty, a former federal electorate in Victoria *Henty Highw ...

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: The ...

-aligned

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. He also served a term as mayor of the

City of Malvern The City of Malvern was a Local government in Australia, local government area about southeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1856 until 1994, when ...

Early life

Francis was born at

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and was a builder and then an estate agent before entering politics. He was a

councillor for sixteen years, including a stint as mayor. He was also a justice of the peace. He had attempted to enlist in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

but was rejected. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 1917 state election.

Federal politics

In 1919, he contested the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

seat of

as an

Nationalist and defeated the sitting

MP, James Boyd, on

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preferences. Despite his independent candidacy, he was reported to be a strong supporter of Nationalist

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

. He was re-elected in 1922 as a loosely-aligned Nationalist, he was formally endorsed and described himself as a "progressive Nationalist to the backbone" but stating that he would not respond to the party whip and would vote his conscience; he was alternately described as independent Nationalist or Nationalist in different sources. He defeated three Nationalist candidates, including Boyd. Prior to the 1925 election, Francis announced that he would not re-contest Henty and would attempt to transfer to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. He was not endorsed by the National Federation and stated his opposition to

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. However, he rejected the labels "independent" or "independent Nationalist", stating that he was a Nationalist candidate. Francis eventually withdrew his Senate candidacy "to avoid splitting the Nationalist vote". He unsuccessfully contested the

1929 Balaclava by-election A by-election occurred for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Balaclava on 3 August 1929. This was triggered by the resignation of Nationalist MP and former Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), th ...

as an independent Nationalist, losing to endorsed Nationalist Thomas White by a large margin.

Later life

Francis faced financial difficulties after leaving parliament. He built a garage and operated it for two years, but was unsuccessful and left with heavy debts. He later worked as a taxi driver, at the

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, and as an agent for an undertaker, working on commission and living rent-free behind the premises. He was declared bankrupt in February 1936. Francis died on 15 August 1949, aged 67, survived by two daughters. He was buried at the Old Cheltenham Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Frederick Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Henty Members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian taxi drivers 1881 births 1949 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians