John Moore Chanter (11 February 1845 – 9 March 1931) was an Australian politician, farmer and commission agent. He was a member of the

Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party or Liberal Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1887 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. The party advocated protective tariffs, arguing it would allow Australi ...

, as well as the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

and the

Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party, also known as the National Party, was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the latter formed by Prime Min ...

Early life

Chanter was born in

Adelaide, South Australia 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 demo ...

, and was the son of John Chanter and Elizabeth née Moore. He was educated at the Albert House Academy and the Collegiate School of St Peter in Adelaide, as well as at the Model Training Institution when his family relocated to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

in 1856. Chanter was a storekeeper and farmer and in 1878, he became the first secretary of the

Victorian Farmers' Union The Victorian Farmers' Union (VFU) was an association of farmers and primary producers formed in 1914 in the Australian state of Victoria. Although initially formed as an "absolutely non-political" entity, the VFU became a political party in 191 ...

. In 1881 he moved to Moama,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , 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 ...

, as an auctioneer and commission agent where he was prominent in establishing the Australian Natives' Association in

, and became its first president in 1900.

Colonial politics

Chanter's political career began in 1885 when he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

as the Member for

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

. He served the electorate for the three consecutive terms before becoming the Member for Deniliquin in 1894. He held the position of Secretary for Mines in the second Dibbs Ministry from 17 January 1889 to 7 March 1889.

Federal politics

Chanter was noted for his democratic views, and was a supporter of

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to b ...

in the lead-up to the

Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western ...

. In 1901 he was elected to the seat of Riverina in the first

Australian 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-g ...

, as a member of the

. He was subsequently elected as the inaugural chairman of committees. Chanter lost Riverina in 1903 to the

Free Trade Party The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states, was an Australian political party, formally organised in 1887 in New South Wales, ...

candidate Robert Blackwood, but regained it in the 1904 by-election after a petition to the High Court. Chanter opposed the Fusion of 1909, and (together with Sir William Lyne) he did not join the

Commonwealth Liberal Party The Liberal Party was a parliamentary party in Australian federal politics between 1909 and 1917. The party was founded under Alfred Deakin's leadership as a merger of the Protectionist Party and Anti-Socialist Party, an event known as the Fu ...

. Chanter instead joined the Labor Party, declaring his beliefs as closer to Labor than the Commonwealth Liberals. He again lost Riverina to

Franc Falkiner Franc Brereton Sadleir Falkiner (17 June 1867 – 30 October 1929) was an Australian politician and grazier, born on the Ararat, Victoria goldfields to Frank Sadleir Falkiner and Emily Elizabeth, née Bazley. The eldest boy among five sons a ...

, the Commonwealth Liberal Party candidate in the 1913 election, but he regained the seat for Labor in 1914. He subsequently returned as chairman of committees, which position he held until 1922. His cumulative service of over 10 years remained a record for the position until surpassed by

Philip Lucock Philip Ernest Lucock, CBE (16 January 1916 – 8 August 1996) was an Australian politician and Presbysterian minister. He served in the House of Representatives from 1952 to 1980, representing the Division of Lyne for the Country Party. He ...

in 1971. As a result of 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 Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

in 1916, Chanter left the Labor Party and, together with several other former Labor members, as well as the Commonwealth Liberal Party, formed the Nationalist Party—thus reuniting him with several of his former Protectionist colleagues. He retained Riverina until the 1922 election, when he was defeated by William Killen, candidate for the new Country Party. He was the first Member of the House of Representatives to have been defeated three times in the same seat. He was praised as a local member and, though he rarely contributed to political debate, his views were always held strongly.

Personal life

Chanter married Mary Ann Clark in 1863, and although she died in 1920, she was survived by six sons and four daughters. After his departure from politics, Chanter retired to

Caulfield, Victoria Caulfield is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Caulfield recorded a population of 5,748 at the 2021 census. It is bo ...

, where he died in 1931, and was buried in Brighton Cemetery. One of his sons, John Courtenay Chanter (1881-1962), served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and later became a member of the

, representing the division of Lachlan for the Labor Party.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chanter, John 1845 births 1931 deaths Protectionist Party members of the Parliament of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Riverina Australian farmers Australian auctioneers 20th-century Australian politicians