John Abel McPherson (28 January 1860 – 13 December 1897) was the first leader of the
South Australian United Labor Party from 1892 to 1897. Though he never led a government himself, he helped lay the groundwork which ensured that at the
1905 election,
Thomas Price would form the world's first stable Labor government.
John Verran
John Verran (9 July 1856 – 7 June 1932) was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He served as premier of South Australia from 1910 to 1912, the second member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to hold the position.
Verran was b ...
led Labor to form the state's first of many
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
s at the
1910 election.
Early life
McPherson was born in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
and migrated with his wife to
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 ...
in 1882, joining the South Australian Typographical Society and working as a printer.
McPherson played a big part in the building and management of the
South Australian Trades Hall, home of the
United Trades and Labor Council (UTLC) of which he became an honorary secretary in 1890. A pioneer in the
Australian labour movement
The Australian labour movement began in the early 19th century and since the late 19th century has included industrial (Australian unions) and political wings (Australian Labor Party). Trade unions in Australia may be organised (i.e., formed) o ...
, he was an effective conciliator in disputes between employers and butchers, drivers, tanners and carriers, and maritime workers over shorter hours and wage regulation.
Parliament
A UTLC meeting with the purpose of creating an elections committee was convened on 12 December 1890, and held on 7 January 1891. The elections committee was formed, officially named the ''United Labor Party of South Australia'' with McPherson the founding secretary. Later that year, Labor enjoyed immediate success, electing
David Charleston
David Morley Charleston (27 May 1848 – 30 June 1934) was a Cornish people, Cornish-born Australian politician. Born in St Erth, Cornwall, he received only a primary education before becoming an apprentice engineer at Harvey & Co ironworks, and ...
,
Robert Guthrie
Robert Guthrie, MD, Ph.D. (June 28, 1916 – June 24, 1995) was an American microbiologist, best known for developing the bacterial inhibition assay used to screen infants for phenylketonuria at birth, before the development of irreversible n ...
and
Andrew Kirkpatrick to 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 ...
. A week later,
Richard Hooper won the
1891 Wallaroo by-election
A by-election was held for the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Wallaroo on 23 May 1891. This was triggered by the resignation of the former Wallaroo MHA David Bews.
Successful candidate Richard Hooper was the first Labor member of the ...
as an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
Labor member in 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 ...
. McPherson won the
1892 East Adelaide by-election
A by-election was held for the South Australian House of Assembly seat of East Adelaide on 23 January 1892. This was triggered by the resignation of the progressive former Premier and state MHA John Cox Bray.
Successful 1891 Wallaroo by-electio ...
on 23 January, becoming the first official Labor member of the House of Assembly at the age of 32. McPherson held the seat of
East Adelaide until his death.
In his maiden speech he strongly deplored
non-European immigration, as was the unanimous view of 19th century Australian man and politician alike, in conjunction with noting the many unemployed people in both city and country. He also advocated a
progressive land tax
A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements. It is also known as a location value tax, a point valuation tax, a site valuation tax, split rate tax, or a site-value r ...
and opening up the land to
smallholders. He sat on the shops and factories commission which advocated consolidation and simplification of the Health Act and new laws to cover factories and
working conditions {{Short description, 1=Overview of and topical guide to working time and conditions
This is a list of topics on working time and conditions.
Legislation
* See :Employment law
Working time
* See :Working time
* Flextime
Working conditions
* Bios ...
. He was also an advocate for
eight-hour working days and
women's voting rights
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
. McPherson was a frequent contributor in the House on
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 ...
, giving characteristically cautious support - from the point of view of democracy, he was fearful of the power of 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 ...
.
Prior to the
April 1893 election, all MPs were classed as
independents regardless of their ideological leaning. As such,
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
did not exist, and frequent changes of
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
occurred. It was the first general election Labor would stand at, resulting in
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
and
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 ...
leaning MPs beginning to divide, additionally with unidentified groupings and independents, as well as the formation of the staunchly anti-Labor
National Defence League
The National Defence League (NDL) was an independent conservative political party, founded in 1891 by MLC Richard Baker in South Australia as an immediate response to the perceived threat from Labor. Though renamed the Australasian National Lea ...
. The voluntary turnout rate increased from 53 to 68 percent, with Labor on 19 percent of the vote, and 10 Labor candidates including McPherson and Hooper were elected to the 54-member House of Assembly which gave Labor the
balance of power. The liberal government of
Charles Kingston
Charles Cameron Kingston (22 October 1850 – 11 May 1908) was an Australian politician. From 1893 to 1899 he was a radical liberal Premier of South Australia, occupying this office with the support of Labor, which in the House of Assembly wa ...
was formed with the support of Labor, ousting the conservative government of
John Downer
Sir John William Downer, KCMG, KC (6 July 1843 – 2 August 1915) was an Australian politician who served two terms as Premier of South Australia, from 1885 to 1887 and again from 1892 to 1893. He later entered federal politics and served as ...
. Kingston at times was accused by McPherson of conservatism. On occasion McPherson threatened to withdraw support from Kingston's cabinet, hoping to get a better deal from the opposition. Labor gained a 5.5 percent swing and another two seats at the
April 1896 election. Kingston served as Premier for a then-record of six and a half years, usually implementing legislation with Labor support.
Death
McPherson, diagnosed with cancer in August 1897, died the following December, aged only 37 years.
James Hutchison retained the seat for Labor at the subsequent by-election. His funeral was attended by 1,000 mourners, who followed his coffin to
West Terrace Cemetery
The West Terrace Cemetery is South Australia's oldest cemetery, first appearing on Colonel William Light's 1837 plan of Adelaide. The site is located in Park 23 of the Adelaide Park Lands just south-west of the Adelaide city centre, between ...
. An oil portrait by Mrs E. Anson was presented to the Trades Hall and an inscription from Robert Browning was carved on his tombstone:
One who never turned his back but marched breast forward...
Notes
References
Sound of Trumpets: History of the Labour Movement in South Australia - By Jim Moss
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcpherson, John Abel
Scottish emigrants to Australia
Members of the South Australian House of Assembly
People from Aberdeen
1860 births
1897 deaths
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia
Australian printers
Burials at West Terrace Cemetery
19th-century Australian politicians