The People's Party was a political organisation in the Australian state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. It was established in 1910 by farmers opposed to the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP). It co-ordinated political campaigns with other anti-Labor organisations, supporting the parliamentary Liberals and later the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

after 1917. It merged into the National Federation in 1917, after an earlier abortive merger with 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 ...

History

The People's Party arose after the 1910 federal election, which resulted in the

(ALP) forming a

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...

for the first time. It was formed "mainly as a result of farmer reaction to Labor's

land tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements upon it. Some economists favor LVT, arguing it does not cause economic inefficiency, and helps reduce economic inequali ...

policy and the extension to rural employees of the '' Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act''". The party was formally launched in

Horsham, Victoria Horsham () is a regional city in the Wimmera region of western Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Located on a bend in the Wimmera River, Horsham is approximately northwest of the state capital Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, Horsham ...

, on 29 October 1910. The acting 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 from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...

described it as "one of those organisations that from time to time are launched upon a credulous public in the vain hope that by changing a name the situation is affected". The organisation grew rapidly, drawing on the membership base of the existing "farmer's leagues" and branches of the

Australian Women's National League The Australian Women's National League (AWNL) was an Australian political lobby group federation first established in 1904. It acted in many ways like a political party, with an extensive branch network and the capability to run its own candidates ...

(AWNL). According to

John La Nauze John Andrew La Nauze (9 June 1911 – 20 August 1990) was an Australian historian from Western Australia. He was born in the Goldfields town of Boulder. Shortly after his fourth birthday, his Mauritian-born father Captain Charles La Nauze wa ...

, it was "apparently largely composed of the husbands and brothers of members of the AWNL". It claimed 16,000 members in September 1911 and 30,000 members a year later, spread across 388 branches. In the lead-up to the

1911 Australian referendum The 1911 Australian referendum was held on 26 April 1911. It contained two referendum questions. __NoTOC__ Results in detail Trade and Commerce :''This section is an excerpt from 1911 Australian referendum (Trade and Commerce) § Results'' M ...

, the People's Party co-ordinated the "No" campaign in Victoria with the AWNL and

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of th ...

(CLP). The success of the joint campaign led to an attempted merger with the CLP, which pre-emptively changed its name to the People's Liberal Party (PLP). However, the merger was called off at the last minute. The People's Party eventually merged into

' National Federation in October 1917, having supported the election of

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

candidates at the 1917 federal election. However, the party's influence was already declining at this time due to the decision 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 19 ...

to enter electoral politics.

Notable members

Future federal government ministers Arthur Rodgers and

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

were members of the People's Party. Rodgers served as a vice-president and helped draw up the party's manifesto, while Gibson served as secretary of the Lismore branch. James Bennett, who was briefly the federal MP for

Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...

, was the inaugural secretary of the party and worked as a paid organiser. At state level, the party supported the candidacy of James Menzies at the

1911 Victorian state election The 1911 Victorian state election was held in the Australian state of Victoria on Thursday, 16 November 1911 to elect 56 of the 65 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.Colin A Hughes, ''A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics ...

. His son

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

became

prime minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

. James Menzies was eventually defeated at the 1920 election by Marcus Wettenhall, another former member of the People's Party.Browne, Geoff
'Wettenhall, Marcus Edwy (1876–1951)'
Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 1 May 2012.

References

Sources

* {{Defunct political parties in Australia 1910 establishments in Australia 1917 disestablishments in Australia Political parties in Victoria (state) Political parties established in 1910 Political parties disestablished in 1917