Richard Witty Foster (20 August 1856 – 5 January 1932) was an Australian politician. He began his career in the

Parliament of South Australia The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly ( lower house) and the 22-seat Legislative Council (upper house). General elections are ...

(1893–1906) and served two terms as Commissioner of Public Works in liberal and conservative governments. He was elected to

federal parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...

in 1909 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 ...

, later joining the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

. He was Minister for Works and Railways (1921–1923) under Prime Minister Billy Hughes, eventually losing his seat at the 1928 election.

Early life

Foster was born in

Goodmanham Goodmanham (historically Godmundingaham, the home of the people of Godmund mentioned in the year 627 in Bede's ''Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'' ) is a small village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situa ...

Pocklington Pocklington is a market town and civil parish situated at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 8,337. It is east of York and northwest of Hull. The town's sk ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and educated at Prospect House,

Tockwith Tockwith is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, near the town of Wetherby and the city of York. There has been a village on the site since at least 1086 when ''Tocvi'' was mentioned in the ''Domesda ...

and apprenticed to a draper. He emigrated to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in 1880 and established a business as a grocer and general provider at

Quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as b ...

. He married Elizabeth Lees in September 1884. He was elected to the

Corporate Town of Quorn The Corporate Town of Quorn was a local government area in South Australia from 1883 to 1969, centred on the town of Quorn. It was incorporated on 25 October 1883, prior to the 1888 establishment of the rural District Council of Kanyaka, which ...

council in 1887 and was mayor from 1890 to 1892.

South Australian politics

On 19 April 1893, Foster was elected to 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 South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament House in the st ...

as the member for

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, a seat he held until Newcastle was abolished on 2 May 1902. From 3 May 1902 until 2 November 1906, Foster represented Flinders. He was Commissioner for Public Works from 8 December 1899 to 4 July 1904 and Minister for Industry from 1902 to 1904 in the liberal governments of

Frederick Holder Sir Frederick William Holder (12 May 185023 July 1909) was an Australian politician. He was Premier of South Australia from June to October 1892 and again from 1899 to 1901. He was a prominent member of the inaugural Parliament of Australia fo ...

and John Jenkins. He resigned from the ministry in 1904, but still supported Jenkins until it fell in 1905 and was then Commissioner for Public Works and Minister for Agriculture in the conservative administration of Richard Butler, but lost his seat in 1906.

Federal politics

Foster won the seat of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

in 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 ...

at a 1909 by-election, standing for 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 December 1921, he was appointed Minister for Works and Railways in the

Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...

ministry, but was dropped from the ministry in February 1923 by

Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, (15 April 1883 – 25 August 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929, as leader of the Nationalist Party. Born ...

. He refused to join the South Australian Country Party and was beaten by its candidate, Maurice Collins in the 1928 elections. Foster died in the Adelaide suburb of St Peters on 5 January 1932, survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

Notes

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Richard Witty Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Wakefield Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1856 births 1932 deaths Members of the Cabinet of Australia English emigrants to Australia Liberal Party (1922) members of the Parliament of Australia Australian grocers 20th-century Australian politicians Mayors of places in South Australia People from Market Weighton