Sir Henry Newman Barwell
KCMG KCMG may refer to
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(26 February 187730 September 1959) was the 28th
premier of South Australia
The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...
.
Early life
Born in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, Barwell was educated at
St Peter's College and
Adelaide University
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
, graduating in law. Admitted to the bar in 1899, Barwell built a successful legal practice where he specialised in defending murder suspects
and became a prominent figure in the Adelaide Establishment. In 1902, he married Anne Webb in
Clare, South Australia
The town of Clare is located in South Australia in the Mid North region, 136 km north of Adelaide. It gives its name to the Clare Valley wine and tourist region.
At the , Clare itself had a population of 3160 as part of an urban area with ...
and together they had one son and three daughters.
Political career
Barwell entered the
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.
Overview
The House of Assembly was creat ...
in 1915 as the
Liberal Union member for the seat of
Stanley
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
. In parliament he quickly became known both as an uncompromising conservative and as a likely future premier. He defended the restricted franchise of the
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parli ...
, arguing that the
Labor Party should not be allowed to gain control "over the capital that employs labor, and over the superior intellect that governs that labor".
In 1917, Barwell was made
Attorney-General of South Australia
The attorney-general of South Australia is the Cabinet minister in the Government of South Australia who is responsible for that state's system of law and justice. The attorney-general must be a qualified legal practitioner, although this wa ...
and Minister for Industry in
Archibald Peake
Archibald Henry Peake (15 January 1859 – 6 April 1920) was an Australian politician. He was Premier of South Australia on three occasions: from 1909 to 1910 for the Liberal and Democratic Union, and from 1912 to 1915 and 1917 to 1920 for its ...
's cabinet and was forced to deal with the deteriorating relationship between the urban and rural constituencies of the Liberal Union, which worsened with the creation of the
Country Party in 1919, taking many of the Liberal Union's supporters with it. Peake died soon after and Barwell became Premier of South Australia on 8 April 1920. Despite voter antipathy against Barwell over his abrasive and sometimes tactless political style, the Liberal Union was nonetheless returned to office at the
1921 election, with Barwell retaining the Premiership.
Never one to shy away from controversy, Barwell publicly advocated the importation of coloured labour into tropical Australia,
[.] contrary to the
White Australia Policy
The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...
which at the time had almost unanimous support. Barwell argued that northern Australia had proven unsuitable for white settlement and only the large scale importation of "selected Asiatics working as coolie labour under indenture to white men" would help develop the region as they were the only race suited to such conditions. This was heresy for many Australians, particularly those in the opposition Labor Party, for which the White Australia Policy was historically a central plank in their policy platform. Labor politicians treated Barwell with undisguised contempt for the rest of his career, referring to him as "Black Barwell".
Barwell's decisiveness was evident during his premiership when he addressed the state of the
South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...
, which by 1922 had decayed to the point of imminent total collapse, endangering state finances.
He forced the funding of a £5 million rehabilitation program through
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and recruited a brilliant American railroad executive,
William Alfred Webb
William Alfred Webb (1878–1936) was an American railroad executive who had wide experience with US railroads, including the management of nationwide railroad operations during World War I, before serving as Commissioner of the South Australian ...
, to lead it. He strongly supported Webb in applying business operating principles to the railways' operations. However, although the South Australian Railways was better prepared than most to meet the huge logistical demands of
World War 2
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the huge investment did not make the railways profitable – mainly because of the impacts of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and the growth in ownership of motor cars. One long-remembered legacy of his premiership, however, was the nicknaming of a fleet of
railcar
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...
s, delivered during his reforms, as "Barwell's Bulls".
In 1922 Barwell announced the "South Australian Farm Apprenticeship Scheme", which undertook the ambitious target of arranging the immigration of 6,000 young men and boys from
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 ...
to cover the 6,000 South Australian
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 ...
casualties.
He travelled to England to personally oversee the recruitment of what became known as the "
Barwell Boys
Sir Henry Newman Barwell KCMG (26 February 187730 September 1959) was the 28th premier of South Australia.
Early life
Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Barwell was educated at St Peter's College and Adelaide University, graduating in law. Ad ...
".
Widespread unemployment in England led 14,000 boys, mainly aged between 15 and 17, to apply for the scheme. While the eventual number of Barwell Boys numbered only 1,700, the scheme was considered a great success, with many of the émigrés playing significant roles in the development of South Australia.
![South Australian premiers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/South_Australian_premiers.gif)
While in London, Barwell was made 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 the
Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are presen ...
List of 1922. He returned to South Australia to find that he and his government were becoming increasingly unpopular due to his policies of
small government
Libertarian conservatism, also referred to as conservative libertarianism and conservatarianism, is a political and social philosophy that combines conservatism and libertarianism, representing the libertarian wing of conservatism and vice ver ...
and
wage restraint, as well as lingering resentment over his earlier comments on importing coloured labour.
Barwell lost the
1924 election to the
John Gunn led Labor Party
[ and, after briefly acting as Opposition Leader, resigned from state parliament, seeking a seat in 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 ...
with a view to becoming 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 ...
. No seats were immediately forthcoming and instead he was forced to settle for appointment 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 ...
, filling a vacancy caused by the death of Senator James O'Loghlin
James O'Loghlin (born 1966) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter. He works for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Local Radio evening program in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Career
Previous ...
in 1925.[
Sitting with 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 ...
, Barwell served in the Senate until 1928, often clashing with his party colleagues due to his outspokenness and independent mind. Realising that a move into the lower house was now a forlorn hope
A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the kill zone of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defende ...
, Barwell resigned from the Senate to accept the posting of South Australian Agent-General in London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. He served in that position until 1933, helping to prepare opinion for the Ottawa Agreement and for the closer collaboration of the various parts of the British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. Described by ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' as a "strong Imperialist with a practical outlook", Barwell was a firm believer in reciprocal trade between members of the Empire.
After the completion of his term as Agent General, Barwell remained in London, entering into various business interests, before eventually returning to Adelaide in 1940, where he unsuccessfully stood for pre-selection in his old seat of Stanley. Growing increasingly deaf, Barwell served as Deputy Chairman of the South Australian Housing Trust for fifteen years until his death in 1959 from cerebrovascular disease
Cerebrovascular disease includes a variety of medical conditions that affect the blood vessels of the brain and the cerebral circulation. Arteries supplying oxygen and nutrients to the brain are often damaged or deformed in these disorders. The ...
.
Sport
Sir Henry was an expert lawn bowler and represented Australia at the 1934 British Empire Games
The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events wer ...
.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barwell, Henry
1877 births
1959 deaths
Premiers of South Australia
Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia
Members of the Australian Senate
Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Australian politicians awarded knighthoods
People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide
Leaders of the Opposition in South Australia
Attorneys-General of South Australia
20th-century Australian politicians
Australian male bowls players
Bowls players at the 1934 British Empire Games
Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia