James Mackinnon Fowler (20 June 1863 – 3 November 1940) was an Australian politician who served as 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 1901 to 1922, representing the

Division of Perth The Division of Perth is an Australian electoral division in the state of Western Australia. It is named after Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, where the Division is located. History The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was ...

. 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), but joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in 1909 and then the Nationalist Party in 1917.

Early life

Fowler was born on 20 June 1863 in Millholm,

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

, Scotland. He was the son of Mary (née McKinnon) and James Fowler, his father being a farmer. He was educated locally before moving to

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, where from 1884 he worked in a

countinghouse A counting house, or counting room, was traditionally an office in which the financial books of a business were kept. It was also the place that the business received appointments and correspondence relating to demands for payment. As the use of ...

. He later worked in

drapery Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin ). It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothin ...

firms in Glasgow and

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before immigrating to Australia in 1891. Fowler initially settled in

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 a

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...

on the goldfields and was a member of the Victorian Socialist League. He moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in 1898 where he worked as a commercial accountant and freelance journalist. He was the honorary secretary of the Federal League, which supported the movement for federation of the Australian colonies.

Politics

Fowler was a leading supporter of

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

and was elected at the first federal election in 1901 to the seat of

, representing the

and was active on financial matters. He was a strong opponent of

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 ...

within the party. In 1909, Fowler left the party claiming that it can become too centralising, although others suggested it was because of his failure to gain a portfolio. He joined 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 Fu ...

, remaining with that party until it was folded into the Nationalist Party when it was established in 1916 under Hughes' leadership. He served as chairman of committees from 1913 to 1914 during the Cook government. In 1919 Fowler published an attack on Hughes—who was now

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 ...

—and continued to oppose him, particularly in relation to his support for high tariffs. Due in part to this, Fowler lost Nationalist endorsement at the 1922 election and lost his seat to fellow Nationalist Edward Mann. According to '' The Bulletin'' in 1921, he could have "achieved Ministerial rank long ago if he hadn't been such a good hater".

Personal life

Fowler married Daisy Bastow in 1898, with whom he had a daughter and three sons. He remained in Melbourne after losing his seat in parliament, where he worked as a freelance writer. He wrote short stories and newspaper articles, sometimes using the pseudonyms Hamish Mackinnon and James Evandale. He also wrote an unpublished novel, ''The Day of Demos'', which was inspired by being "driven slowly but surely to the conclusion that democracy as a system of government is a rank failure". He died at his home in

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

on 3 November 1940, aged 77.

Notes

Australian Labor 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 Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Perth Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1863 births 1940 deaths People from Strathaven 20th-century Australian politicians Politicians from South Lanarkshire Australian book and manuscript collectors Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia {{Australia-Labor-representative-stub