John Blyth Hayes (21 April 1868 – 12 July 1956) was an Australian politician who served as a

Senator 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 ...

for

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

from 1923 to 1947. He was

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

from 1938 to 1941. Before entering federal politics, he had been a member of the

Parliament of Tasmania The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania, the Tasmanian House of Assembly (the lower house), and T ...

from 1913 to 1923 and served as

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Ta ...

for almost exactly one year, from 1922 to 1923.

Early life

Hayes was born on 21 April 1868 in Bridgewater, Tasmania. He was the son of Elizabeth (née Blyth) and Joshua John Hayes, his father being a farmer. His grandfather John Hayes was a Tasmanian member of parliament in the 1860s. Hayes was educated by his mother, but little else is known of his early life. He participated in the Western Australian gold rushes, and eventually became the manager of an ore-reduction facility and

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

works at Wiluna. In about 1906 he returned to Tasmania and took up a property at Scottsdale. He married his cousin Laura Linda Blyth on 22 January 1907. Her brother

Ernest Blyth Ernest Frederick Burns Blyth (11 July 1872 – 1 November 1933) was an Australian politician in Tasmania. Early Life and marriage Ernest was born in 1872 to schoolteacher William Crowther Blyth and Mary Ann (nee Burns) of Honeywood, in the ...

was also a member of parliament.

State politics

Hayes was elected president of the North-Eastern Agricultural and Pastoral Association in 1911 and secretary of the Scottsdale Board of Agriculture in 1912. He was elected to the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

at the 1913 state election, running as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

with the support of the farming community. In September 1915, Hayes was elected deputy leader of the opposition under Walter Lee. The Liberals formed a government after the 1916 state election, and subsequently adopted the name of the federal Nationalist Party formed after the Australian Labor Party split of 1916. With Lee as premier, Hayes served as Minister for Lands and Works (1916–1919), Minister for Works (1919–1923), and Minister for Agriculture (1916–1923). He was also in charge of the Hydro-Electric Department. He won praise for his handling of the agriculture portfolio and for his work in the area of

soldier settlement Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlemen ...

. In 1921, he was appointed Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG). The Nationalists were reduced to a minority government at the 1922 state election, due to the success of the newly formed Country Party led by Hayes' brother-in-law

. Lee did not enjoy the support of the Country Party and resigned as premier in August 1922. With the support of Blyth, Hayes replaced him as state premier on 14 August and formed a coalition, the first in the state's history. He inherited a government heavily in debt, but was unable to resolve the situation and was criticised for inaction. He resigned as premier on 16 August 1923, after just after a year in office.

Federal politics

After losing the premiership, Hayes nominated to fill the

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

caused by the death of Senator

Thomas Bakhap Thomas Jerome Kingston Bakhap (29 October 1866 – 18 August 1923) was an Australian politician. He was born in Ballarat, Victoria, the adoptive son of a Chinese immigrant, Bak Hap. He received no formal education but became a shopworker, and w ...

. He was elected only narrowly, beginning his term on 12 September 1923. He won election in his own right at the 1925 federal election, and then was elected to full six-year terms in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

, and

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

. He joined the United Australia Party (UAP) with the rest of the Nationalists upon its formation in 1931. In the Senate, Hayes concentrated on rural issues and Tasmanian matters. He served on the Joint Committee of Public Accounts from 1926 to 1932, including for a period as chairman. He was elected

on 1 July 1938, becoming the first Tasmanian to hold the position. His election meant that the positions of President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Prime Minister were all held by Tasmanians (

George John Bell Sir George John Bell (29 November 1872 – 5 March 1944) was an Australian soldier and politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1934 to 1940. He represented the Tasmanian seat of Darwin in the House of Represent ...

being the incumbent speaker and

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 ...

the incumbent prime minister). Hayes faced several motions of dissent in the early days of his presidency, but his rulings later achieved widespread acceptance. He lost his position in unusual circumstances on 1 July 1941, when the Senate elected at the 1940 election convened for the first time. Although the government had a nominal majority in the Senate,

Allan MacDonald Allan Macdonald (November 21, 1794 White Plains, Westchester County, New York – January 1862) was an American politician from New York. Life He was the son of Dr. Archibald Macdonald (d. 1813), a native of Scotland. Allan Macdonald was Postm ...

had been taken ill and Keith Wilson was absent overseas on military duty. This allowed the ALP candidate James Cunningham to tie with Hayes. Cunningham's name was subsequently drawn at random in accordance with the standing rules of the Senate.

Final years

Hayes did not recontest his seat at the 1946 election and he was 79 years old at the expiration of his term on 30 June 1947. He retired to Launceston where he died on 12 July 1956. He was granted a state funeral and buried at Carr Villa Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, John Premiers of Tasmania 1868 births 1956 deaths Presidents of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Tasmania Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century Australian politicians Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania