George Kerr (1853–1930) was an Australian politician, grazier, and blacksmith. He was a Member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

Early life

Kerr was born on 7 February 1853 at

Beadnell Beadnell is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is situated about south-east of Bamburgh, on the North Sea coast, and has a population of 528(2001), increasing to 545 at the 2011 Census. It takes its name from the Anglo Sa ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and after training to become a blacksmith moved to Queensland in 1877. He became a mining speculator on the Croydon goldfields and then set up his own forge in Tambo, Queensland to service mining operations in the local region.

Politics

Kerr became involved in local politics for the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

, and in 1893 he was elected to represent the electoral district of Barcoo in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

and served in that post until 1909. He rose to senior positions within the party, culminating in his election as leader of the Queensland Parliamentary Labor Party in 1904 after the death of his predecessor William Browne. Kerr's leadership was complicated by a split in the party in 1905 in which he and other senior Labor figures opted to form a coalition with the Liberal Party to achieve statewide reforms. Although initially he commanded the confidence of the party, a state conference of the party in 1907 rejected Kerr's leadership and the Liberal-Labor coalition, opting to go into the 1907 state election alone. Kerr continued in parliament as an independent Labor member but was challenged by official Labor candidates until his defeat in his seat in 1909.

Later life

Kerr died on 18 January 1930 in Brisbane and was buried in

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest ceme ...

References

1853 births 1930 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly People from Northumberland English emigrants to colonial Australia Australian blacksmiths Burials at Toowong Cemetery {{Australia-politician-stub