John Storey (15 May 1869 – 5 October 1921) was an Australian politician who was
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. ...
from 12 April 1920 until his sudden death in
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 ...
. His leadership enabled the New South Wales
Labor Party to recover after the split over conscription and to allow it to continue to be a left-wing pragmatist rather than a socialist party.
Early life
Storey was born at or near
Huskisson,
New South Wales
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
to English immigrant parents, William John, a shipbuilder, and Elizabeth Graham. His family moved to
Balmain when he was six,
but his father died soon afterwards. He was educated at Darling Road Superior Public School and at night school. At fourteen he was apprenticed to boilermaking with Perdriau and West and then worked at
Mort's Dock
Mort's Dock is a former dry dock, slipway, and shipyard in Balmain, New South Wales, Australia. It was the first dry dock in Australia, opening for business in 1855 and closing more than a century later in 1959. The site is now parkland.
His ...
.
He helped found the
Balmain Cricket Club in 1897 and was a leading all-rounder for its top grade team. He was a member of the United Society of Boilermakers and Iron Ship Builders of New South Wales. In 1908 Storey was a founder of the
Balmain District Rugby League Football Club.
Elected to Parliament
Storey joined the Labor Electoral League, the precursor of the Labor Party, on its foundation in 1891, and was elected to represent
Balmain North in the
Legislative Assembly in 1901. Although he was an effective parliamentarian, he was beaten for election to the recreated seat of
Balmain by
Walter Anderson in 1904, but defeated Anderson in 1907. The
McGowen Labor Government came to power in 1910, but Storey did not nominate for election to Cabinet.
[
In 1916, the non-parliamentary party attempted to discipline Premier ]William Holman
William Arthur Holman (4 August 1871 – 5 June 1934) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1913 to 1920. He came to office as the leader of the Labor Party, but was expelled from the party in the split o ...
, and elected a Cabinet headed by Storey on 27 April. The party reversed that decision on 4 May and Storey handed back power to Holman,[ although legally there had never been any transfer of power. However, the split in the party widened further with the dispute over ]conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
and, in November, Holman, along with Prime Minister 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 ...
, were expelled from the party. The remnants of the Labor Party were then in opposition to Holman's Nationalist Government, but Storey refused to become party leader and Ernest Durack
Ernest Durack (10 August 1882 – 16 November 1967) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1913 until 1917, and the leader of the Labor Party (ALP) in New South Wales for three months unti ...
was elected to that position. Durack resigned unexpectedly in February 1917 and Storey had no choice but to accept the leadership. His good public speaking and amiability helped to reduce the scale of Labor's defeat in the 1917 election. He worked hard in 1918 and 1919 to prevent socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
s taking over the party and his policy speech for the 1920 election promised child endowment and suburban rail electrification rather than socialism.[
]
Premier
Labor won the 1920 election with a majority of one and Storey became Premier. His thin majority, combined with a substantial minority in Legislative Council (made up of life appointees) and attacks of nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys and may involve the glomeruli, tubules, or interstitial tissue surrounding the glomeruli and tubules. It is one of several different types of nephropathy.
Types
* Glomerulonephritis is inflammation of th ...
made his job hard. His private secretary at this time was V. Gordon Childe, later internationally famous in the field of archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
, who wrote the book ''How Labor Governs'', based on his experience as Storey's secretary. In June 1920, he appointed Judge Norman Ewing
Norman Kirkwood Ewing (26 December 1870 – 19 July 1928), Australian politician, was a member of three parliaments: the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the Australian Senate, and the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He became a Judge of ...
to carry out a royal commission in to the imprisonment of twelve IWW members in 1916 for treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
, arson
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
, sedition
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
and forgery
Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidd ...
. On Ewing's recommendation, ten were released in August. In early 1921, he prorogued
A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections ...
Parliament to prevent his Government being overthrown during a six months absence to visit financiers and a Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...
doctor in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Despite the warnings of his doctor, he undertook heavy work in London and on his return to Sydney in July.
Death
He was admitted to hospital and died at Clermont Private 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. ...
and was survived by his wife, three sons and two of his three daughters.[ His funeral service was held at St. Andrew's Cathedral on 7 October 1921, and he was buried at the Field of Mars Cemetery in ]Ryde
Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...
the same day.[Sydney Morning Herald: Funeral Notice, 07/10/1921 (page 7)]
In 1926, Premier Jack Lang opened the John Storey Memorial Dispensary in Little Regent Street, Chippendale, New South Wales
Chippendale is a small inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the southern edge of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Chippendale is located between Broadway to the ...
. It served as a practical memorial to John Storey and still functions as a pathology clinic.
Notes
External links
E-Text of 'How Labor Governs'
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Storey, John
1869 births
1921 deaths
Premiers of New South Wales
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales
Deaths from nephritis
Leaders of the Opposition in New South Wales
Australian boilermakers