Henry Gregory (15 March 1860 – 15 November 1940) was an Australian politician. He was a Ministerialist member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

from 1897 to 1911, representing the electorates of North Coolgardie (1897-1901) and

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

(1901-1911). He was state Minister for Mines from 1901 to 1904 under

George Leake George Leake (3 December 1856 – 24 June 1902) was the third Premier of Western Australia, serving from May to November 1901 and then again from December 1901 to his death. Leake was born in Perth, into a prominent local family. Studying l ...

and

Walter James Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

and Minister for Mines and Railways from 1905 to 1911 under

Hector Rason Sir Cornthwaite Hector William James Rason (18 June 1858 – 15 March 1927), better known as Hector Rason, was the seventh Premier of Western Australia. Early life Rason was born in Cleeve, Somerset, in England on 18 June 1858. He was the son ...

Newton Moore Major General Sir Newton James Moore, (17 May 1870 – 28 October 1936) was an Australian politician, businessman and army officer. He served as the eighth Premier of Western Australia from 1906 to 1910 and, following service in the First World ...

and Frank Wilson. He rose to become Treasurer from 1910 to 1911, a role that also entailed him acting as Premier if Wilson was absent, but lost his seat at the 1911 state election. He subsequently entered federal politics as a member of 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 o ...

from 1913 until his death in 1940, representing the electorates of Dampier (1911-1922) and Swan (1922-1940). He was initially a member of the

Commonwealth Liberal Party The Liberal Party was a parliamentary party in Australian federal politics between 1909 and 1917. The party was founded under Alfred Deakin's leadership as a merger of the Protectionist Party and Anti-Socialist Party, an event known as the Fus ...

and its successor the Nationalist Party, but joined the new Country Party in 1920 and was its deputy leader from 1921 to 1922.

Early life and working career

Gregory was born in

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. Kyneton is on Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country. The town has four main streets: ...

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 ...

, where he was educated. He opened a tinsmithing and ironmongering business at

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

aged 16, but 1892, with his business failing, went to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

to prospect on the goldfields with little success. He worked for the Askin & Nicholson storekeepers at the Ninety-Mile camp on the

road before relocating to Menzies township in December 1894. He was the proprietor of two hotels, the Pioneer Hotel and Menzies Hotel, floated two mining companies in 1896 (the "Menzies Compass" and the "Menzies Tornado"), opened the ''North Coolgardie Herald & Menzies Times'' newspaper in 1896 and bought out its rival the '' Menzies Miner'' in 1898. He was also often described in profiles as having been variously a hotel, stock and share broker at Menzies. He was chairman of the Menzies Progress Committee and became the first mayor of the new Municipality of Menzies from 1896 to 1897. He was appointed as a justice of the peace in 1897. He was also involved in the formation of an "Anti-Asiatic League" at Menzies, and advocated for the quarantining of all arrivals from

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. Later in life, he would serve as the Western Australian representative on the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket (now

Cricket Australia Cricket Australia (CA), formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Crick ...

State politics

In 1897, he was elected to the

as the member for the new seat of North Coolgardie, narrowly defeating future federal MP

Hugh Mahon Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

in a bitter contest, and transferred to the

electorate in 1901. He was promoted to the ministry as Minister for Mines in the short-lived First Leake Ministry of 1901; he subsequently returned in the Second Leake Ministry later that year. Gregory then served in the ministry continuously until his defeat in 1911, as Minister for Mines 1901–1904, Minister for Mines and Railways 1905–1911, and acting Premier and Treasurer 1910–1911. As Minister for Mines, Gregory consolidated the state's ten pieces of mining legislation into one consolidated act, reportedly colloquially known as "Gregory's Act", established the Kalgoorlie School of Mines, made numerous reforms to the mining leases system, and introduced the system of building state batteries to process gold. In 1904, while Minister for Mines, Kalgoorlie tabloid newspaper ''The Sun'' made allegations about Gregory's handling of a mining lease dispute, leading to the landmark imprisonment of its editor, John Drayton under parliamentary privilege after Drayton refused to appear before a parliamentary committee into the incident. Gregory lost his seat at the 1911 election, at which the Ministerialists were badly defeated by Labor. He had reportedly grown considerably more conservative during his time in state politics, contributing to his eventual defeat. He attempted to re-enter parliament at a by-election for the Metropolitan Suburban electorate of the Legislative Council the following month, but was again defeated. Following the loss of his state seat, he spent two years farming on a 6000-acre pastoral property 30 miles east of Wickepin.

Federal politics

In 1913, Gregory was elected to the

as the member for Dampier, representing the

. In 1917, together with the rest of his party, he became 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 ...

. In 1920, the Country Party was formed, and Gregory was one of several Nationalist MPs to join it. He was the party's deputy leader from 21 April 1921 until his resignation due to policy differences on 22 February 1922. The abolition of Dampier led him to contest the seat of Swan at the 1922 election, while party colleague and member for Swan John Prowse contested the new seat of Forrest. In federal parliament, he was a long-serving member of the Public Works Committee (1914–26 and 1929–31) and its chairman from 1917 to 1926. He was also a member of the 1913 Royal Commission on the pearling industry, 1914 Royal Commission into powellized timber and the 1927-28 Royal Commission into the Australian moving picture industry. He frequently clashed with his conservative colleagues over tariff issues to protect Western Australian interests, and in 1932, he advocated a referendum to amend the Constitution to allow Western Australia to set its own customs and excise duties for 25 years; when this did not meet with support, he became a supporter of the

1933 Western Australian secession referendum A secession referendum was held on 8 April 1933 in the Australian state of Western Australia, on the proposal that the state withdraw from the Australian Federation. The proposal won a majority of the votes and a petition to give effect to the ...

. Gregory died at Mount St. Evin's Hospital in Melbourne in 1940, aged 80 and then the oldest member of the House of Representatives, following a short illness, although he was said to have been in indifferent health for several years. He was granted a state funeral, held at Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral in

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 ...

, and buried at

Fawkner Cemetery Fawkner Memorial Park is located in the north-western Melbourne suburb of Fawkner, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest cemetery by land size in the state, and managed by Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. Merlynston Creek, a tributary ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Henry Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia 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 for Dampier Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Swan Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1860 births 1940 deaths People from Kyneton 20th-century Australian politicians