Thomas Playford (26 November 1837 – 19 April 1915) was an Australian politician who served two terms as
Premier of South Australia
The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...
(1887–1889; 1890–1892). He subsequently entered federal politics, serving 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 ...
for
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 ...
from 1901 to 1906 and as
Minister for Defence from 1905 to 1907.
Early life
Born in
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By t ...
, London in 1837, Thomas Playford II
[Delineating the various Thomas Playfords with a generation number is solely for ease of reference in this and related articles; in Australia there is no tradition of referring to "Thomas Playford II" et al. in speech or in writing.] moved 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 1844 with his parents the
Rev. Thomas Playford (c. 1795 – 18 September 1873) and his wife Mary Anne Playford, née Perry (c. 1804 – 27 April 1872), two brothers and a sister. He worked as a farmer prior to entering politics.
South Australian politics
Elected to 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 held ...
at the
1868 election as the Member for
Onkaparinga,
he gained the
sobriquet
A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...
"Honest Tom" for his forthright and straightforward manner, although these same qualities would earn him the occasional disapproval of fellow politicians and the electorate, and caused his defeat at the
1871 election. Playford returned to Parliament at the
1875 election as member for
East Torrens and held the position of Reforming Commissioner for Crown Lands and Immigration before losing his seat yet again at the
1887 election. A month later however, he won the seat of
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 ...
.
[ By mid-1887 he became Premier and Treasurer, positions he would hold for two years until a vote of no confidence passed. During his premiership, his most important achievement was considered to be the implementation of the first systematic tariff system for South Australia.]
He regained East Torrens at the 1890 election and a few months later he formed his second government, again becoming Premier and Treasurer, and would again last for two years. He received kudos for significantly reducing the colony's debt, although he spent much of this second term in India. 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 ...
brought together the various 'liberal' groups and was able to defeat the conservative 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 ...
government at the 1893 election with Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
support. The Kingston government would last for a then-record six years. Kingston had appointed Playford as Treasurer in his government, however in 1894 Playford moved to London to act as Agent-General for South Australia before returning to South Australia in 1898 to serve in Kingston's government from the 1899 election as member for Gumeracha,[ until he crossed the floor in later that year over a potential erosion of the power of the Legislative Council, bringing down the Kingston government in the process. He also found the time to involve himself in the planning of the Federation of the Australian Commonwealth and drafting the ]Australian Constitution
The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the ...
. As part of this, he proposed the title "Commonwealth of Australia".[
]
Federal politics
As a moderate Protectionist
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
, but with the endorsement of the conservative Australasian National League (formerly National Defence League), Playford became a Senator at the inaugural 1901 federal election. Two years later in Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901. During his three terms as prime ministe ...
's government, Playford served for seven months as Leader of the Government in the Senate and 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 ...
. He became Minister for Defence in 1905 which he held for 18 months. He was defeated in the 1906 federal election, the first serving Minister to suffer this fate. His term as a Senator ended on 31 December 1906, and his ministerial commission was terminated on 24 January 1907. Playford made one further unsuccessful attempt to re-enter the Senate at the 1910 federal election.[
]
Death
Playford died in Kent Town
Kent Town is an inner suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters.
History
Kent Town was named for Dr. Benjamin Archer Kent (1808 – 25 November 1864), a medical practitioner of Walsall, Staf ...
, Adelaide on 19 April 1915.[
]
Family
Playford married Mary Jane Kinsman (born 20 May 1835, the daughter of Rev. William Kinsman) on 16 December 1860. The couple had eleven children: five sons, five daughters and one adoptive daughter.[
His eldest daughter Annie (died 1956) married the Rev. John Henry Sexton on 30 June 1886.
On 1 January 1889 his second daughter Eliza (born 1866) married Harry J. Tuck (born 1863), elder brother of painter Marie Tuck and later headmaster at ]Unley High School
Unley High School, located in Netherby, South Australia.
History
Unley High School was founded in 1910 as one of the first public high schools to be established after Adelaide High School in 1908. Initially it was under the control of the H ...
.
Playford's grandson, Sir Thomas Playford, also served as Premier of South Australia.
Notes
See also
* Hundred of Playford
References
Sources
* Jupp, J. (2004) ''The English in Australia'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Playford, Thomas 2
Premiers of South Australia
Protectionist Party members of the Parliament of Australia
1837 births
1915 deaths
English emigrants to Australia
Members of the Cabinet of Australia
Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia
Members of the Australian Senate
Settlers of South Australia
Members of the South Australian House of Assembly
Leaders of the Opposition in South Australia
Treasurers of South Australia
Defence ministers of Australia
20th-century Australian politicians