John Albert Beasley (9 November 1895 – 2 September 1949) was an Australian politician who 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 1928 to 1946. He served in the
Australian War Cabinet
A war cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war to efficiently and effectively conduct that war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers, although it is quite common for a war cabinet to have senior ...
from 1941 to 1946, and was a government minister in the
Curtin and
Chifley Governments. Beasley was a member of 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 ...
, although on two occasions he left the party to join the breakaway
Lang Labor
Lang Labor was a faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) consisting of the supporters of Jack Lang, who served two terms as Premier of New South Wales and was the party's state leader from 1923 to 1939.
Following the expulsion of the N ...
groups, leading the faction in federal parliament. He concluded his career as
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
The following is the list of ambassadors and high commissioners to the United Kingdom, or more formally, to the Court of St James's. High commissioners represent member states of the Commonwealth of Nations and ambassadors represent other sta ...
from 1946 until his death in 1949.
Early life
Beasley was born on 9 November 1895 in
Werribee, Victoria
Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census.
Werribee i ...
, the son of Catherine (née Hogan) and John Beasley. His mother was born in
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...
, Ireland, while his Australian-born father was a blacksmith and farmer. Beasley was educated at St Andrew's Catholic Primary School, but left at a young age to work on his father's farm. He later worked as a labourer in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and
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 ...
, and then trained as an electrician in
Port Augusta, South Australia
Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a seaport, it is now a road traffic and railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about north of the state ca ...
, and
Broken Hill, New South Wales
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
. In 1918, Beasley moved to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and found work at the
Cockatoo Island Dockyard
The Cockatoo Island Dockyard was a major dockyard in Sydney, Australia, based on Cockatoo Island. The dockyard was established in 1857 to maintain Royal Navy warships. It later built and repaired military and battle ships, and played a key role ...
. He was employed by the
Sydney Municipal Council
The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842 ...
in 1920, becoming an electrical installation inspector and then supervisor of appliance sales in the electricity department in 1926. On 5 February 1927, he married Alma Matilda Creighton at a Catholic church in
Manly. The couple had two sons and two daughters together.
Early political involvement
Beasley became involved in the
labour movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
as a
shop steward
A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...
for the
Electrical Trades Union of Australia
The Electrical Trades Union of Australia (ETU) is an Australian trade union.
The ETU is a division of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), and is the largest of the three divisions. Under State Government laws, the union ...
(ETU). He served as the union's president from 1924 to 1930, and was one of its delegates to the
Labor Council of New South Wales
The Labor Council of New South Wales, branded Unions NSW, is the peak body for trade unions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Councils affiliated to the Labor Coun ...
, serving as president of the council from 1922 to 1928. Beasley was elected to the
state executive of 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 ...
in June 1923. Although initially sympathetic to communism and supportive of
Jock Garden
John Smith "Jock" Garden (13 August 188231 December 1968) was an Australian clergyman, trade unionist and politician. He was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Australia.
Early life
Garden was born on 13 August 1882 in Nigg, Aberde ...
, he later moderated his views. He represented the ALP at the
International Labour Conference
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...
in Switzerland in 1926, and returned to Australia "appalled at the excesses of Italian fascism and disconcerted by the realities of Russian communism".
[
]
Federal politics
In 1928 Beasley was elected for the safe Labor seat of West Sydney. When Labor under Jim Scullin
James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 – 28 January 1953) was an Australian Labor Party politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Scullin led Labor to government at the 1929 Australian federal election. He was the first Cathol ...
won the 1929 federal election, he became an Honorary Minister (minister without portfolio), but he resigned this position in 1931 in protest at the Scullin government's policies in response to 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 ...
. He became the leading lieutenant of the radical Premier of New South Wales
The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...
, Jack Lang, and when Lang decided to break with the federal ALP Beasley resigned from the ALP Caucus and became leader of the Lang Labor
Lang Labor was a faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) consisting of the supporters of Jack Lang, who served two terms as Premier of New South Wales and was the party's state leader from 1923 to 1939.
Following the expulsion of the N ...
party in federal Parliament. In December 1931 he led his group across the floor of the House and brought down the Scullin Government on a vote of confidence. This earned him the nickname "Stabber Jack" for the rest of his life.[
From 1932 to 1936 Beasley led the Lang group in opposition to both the ]United Australia Party
The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...
government of Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...
and Federal Labor. In 1935 Scullin retired and in early 1936 the new federal leader, John Curtin
John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...
, brought about a reunification of the NSW and Federal parties, and Beasley joined the Opposition front bench. But in 1940 Lang again broke off relations with the federal party, although by this time he was no longer Premier and no longer had the support of the NSW Branch as a whole. Nevertheless, Beasley again supported Lang and became leader of the so-called Non-Communist Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (Non-Communist), which operated from 1940 to 1941, was a breakaway from the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and was associated with the Lang Labor faction and former New South Wales premier Jack Lang (Australian politic ...
in federal Parliament.
World War II
In 1941 Curtin again brought Lang's followers (although not Lang himself) back into the Labor Party. When Curtin became 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 ...
in October 1941, he made Beasley Minister for Supply and Development (later Minister for Supply and Shipping
Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...
), a vital portfolio in wartime. Beasley proved to be a highly competent minister and played a leading role in co-ordinating Australia's wartime economy and supporting the Allied forces in the Pacific Theatre. Due to ill health he exchanged positions with Bill Ashley in February 1945 to take the undemanding Vice-President of the Executive Council
The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executive ...
.[
]
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
When Curtin died in July 1945, his successor Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1945, follow ...
made Beasley Minister for Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, but Chifley had been a minister in the Scullin Government and had been the leading opponent of Lang in the NSW ALP through the 1930s. He had not forgiven Beasley and did not want him in the Cabinet, so in 1946 Beasley was appointed High Commissioner in London. He was appointed to the Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
in 1946.[ and was a leading guest at the 1947 ]wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
The wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten took place on Thursday 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom. The bride was the elder daughter of King George VI and heir presumptive to the British throne. The ...
.
.[Royal Collection: Seating plan for the Ball Supper Room http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/royalwedding1947/object.asp?grouping=&exhibs=NONE&object=9000366&row=82&detail=magnify] He served as High Commissioner until his sudden death in September 1949 on a visit to Sydney at St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. I ...
.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, John Albert
1895 births
1949 deaths
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
Lang Labor members of the Parliament of Australia
Members of the Cabinet of Australia
Members of the Australian House of Representatives for West Sydney
Members of the Australian House of Representatives
High Commissioners of Australia to the United Kingdom
Defence ministers of Australia
20th-century Australian politicians
Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Australian people of Irish descent
People from Werribee, Victoria