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Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 – 22 October 1928) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the fifth prime minister of Australia from 1908 to 1909, 1910 to 1913 and 1914 to 1915. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and was particularly notable for leading the party to its first federal election victory and first majority government at the 1910 federal election.
Fisher was born in Crosshouse, Ayrshire, Scotland. He left school at a young age to work in the nearby coal mines, becoming secretary of the local branch of the Ayrshire Miners' Union at the age of 17. Fisher emigrated to Australia in 1885, where he continued his involvement with trade unionism. He settled in Gympie, Queensland, and in 1893 was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as a representative of the Labor Party. Fisher lost his seat in 1896, but returned in 1899 and later that year briefly was a minister in the government of Anderson Dawson.
In 1901, Fisher was elected to the new federal parliament representing the Division of Wide Bay. He was the Minister for Trade and Customs for a few months in 1904, in the short-lived government of Chris Watson. Fisher was elected deputy leader of the ALP in 1905 and replaced Watson as leader in 1907. He initially provided support to the minority government of Protectionist leader Alfred Deakin, but in November 1908 the ALP withdrew its support and Deakin resigned as prime minister. Fisher subsequently formed a minority government of his own. It lasted only a few months, as in June 1909 Deakin returned as prime minister at the head of a new anti-socialist Liberal Party.
Fisher returned as prime minister after the 1910 federal election, which saw Labor attain majority government for the first time in its history. His second government passed wide-ranging reforms – old-age and disability pensions, enshrined new workers' rights in legislation, established the Commonwealth Bank, oversaw the continued expansion of the Royal Australian Navy, began construction on the Trans-Australian Railway, and formally established what is now the Australian Capital Territory. However, at the 1913 election the ALP narrowly lost its House of Representatives majority to the Liberal Party, with Fisher being replaced as prime minister by Joseph Cook.
After just over a year in office, Cook was forced to call a new election, the first double dissolution. Labor won back its majority in the House, and Fisher returned for a third term as prime minister. During the election campaign he famously declared that Australia would defend Britain "to the last man and the last shilling". However, he struggled with the demands of Australia's participation in World War I and in October 1915 resigned in favour of his deputy Billy Hughes. Fisher subsequently accepted an appointment as the High Commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom, holding the position from 1916 to 1920. After a brief return to Australia, he retired to London, dying there at the age of 66. His cumulative total of just under five years as prime minister is the second-longest by an ALP leader, surpassed only by Bob Hawke.
Fisher was born on 29 August 1862 in Crosshouse, a mining village 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Kilmarnock, Scotland. He was the second of eight children born to Jane (née Garven or Garvin) and Robert Fisher; he had one older brother, four younger brothers, and two younger sisters. His younger sister died at the age of 10 in 1879, the only one of the siblings not to live to adulthood. Fisher's mother was the daughter of a blacksmith and worked as a domestic servant. On his father's side, he was descended from a long line of Ayrshire coalminers. According to family tradition, his paternal grandfather was persecuted for his involvement in the fledgling union movement, and on one occasion was left homeless with five young children. Although he was probably only partially literate, Fisher's father was prominent in the local community and involved with various community organisations. He was the leader of a temperance society, and in 1863 was one of ten miners who co-founded a cooperative society. He and his family were active members of the Free Church of Scotland.
Fisher spent most of his childhood living in a miners' row, which had an earthen floor and no running water. He was kicked in the head by a cow as a small child, leaving him mostly deaf in one ear. The injury may have contributed to a childhood speech impediment and his reserved nature as an adult. As a boy, Fisher and his brothers fished in Carmel Water, a tributary of the River Irvine, and enjoyed long walks across the countryside. He was athletic, helping form a local football team, and stood 178 centimetres (5 ft 10 in) as an adult, above the average at the time. In later life, Fisher recalled attending four schools as a boy. The exact details are uncertain, but he is known to have finished his schooling in Crosshouse and to have attended a school in nearby Dreghorn for a period. The standard of public education in Scotland was relatively high at the time, and his schoolmaster in Crosshouse had received formal training in Edinburgh; the main focus of the curriculum was on the three Rs. He later supplemented his limited formal education by attending night school in Kilmarnock and reading at the town library.
The exact age at which Fisher left school is uncertain, but he could have been as young as nine or as old as thirteen. He is believed to have begun his working life as a coal trapper, opening and closing the trapdoors that allowed for ventilation and the movement of coal. He was later placed in charge of the pit ponies, and finally took his place performing "pick-and-shovel work" at the coalface. When he was 16, he was promoted to air-pump operator, which required additional training and was seen as a relatively prestigious position. Fisher's father had black lung disease, and gave up mining around the same time as his oldest sons began working. He subsequently became the manager of the foodstore at the local cooperative, and the family moved out of miners' row. They later lived in Kilmaurs for a period, but eventually returned to Crosshouse and leased a small farm. Fisher's father then worked as a gardener and apiarist, supplementing his income with contract work repairing the machinery at local mines. He died of lung disease in 1887, aged 53.
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Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 – 22 October 1928) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the fifth prime minister of Australia from 1908 to 1909, 1910 to 1913 and 1914 to 1915. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and was particularly notable for leading the party to its first federal election victory and first majority government at the 1910 federal election.
Fisher was born in Crosshouse, Ayrshire, Scotland. He left school at a young age to work in the nearby coal mines, becoming secretary of the local branch of the Ayrshire Miners' Union at the age of 17. Fisher emigrated to Australia in 1885, where he continued his involvement with trade unionism. He settled in Gympie, Queensland, and in 1893 was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as a representative of the Labor Party. Fisher lost his seat in 1896, but returned in 1899 and later that year briefly was a minister in the government of Anderson Dawson.
In 1901, Fisher was elected to the new federal parliament representing the Division of Wide Bay. He was the Minister for Trade and Customs for a few months in 1904, in the short-lived government of Chris Watson. Fisher was elected deputy leader of the ALP in 1905 and replaced Watson as leader in 1907. He initially provided support to the minority government of Protectionist leader Alfred Deakin, but in November 1908 the ALP withdrew its support and Deakin resigned as prime minister. Fisher subsequently formed a minority government of his own. It lasted only a few months, as in June 1909 Deakin returned as prime minister at the head of a new anti-socialist Liberal Party.
Fisher returned as prime minister after the 1910 federal election, which saw Labor attain majority government for the first time in its history. His second government passed wide-ranging reforms – old-age and disability pensions, enshrined new workers' rights in legislation, established the Commonwealth Bank, oversaw the continued expansion of the Royal Australian Navy, began construction on the Trans-Australian Railway, and formally established what is now the Australian Capital Territory. However, at the 1913 election the ALP narrowly lost its House of Representatives majority to the Liberal Party, with Fisher being replaced as prime minister by Joseph Cook.
After just over a year in office, Cook was forced to call a new election, the first double dissolution. Labor won back its majority in the House, and Fisher returned for a third term as prime minister. During the election campaign he famously declared that Australia would defend Britain "to the last man and the last shilling". However, he struggled with the demands of Australia's participation in World War I and in October 1915 resigned in favour of his deputy Billy Hughes. Fisher subsequently accepted an appointment as the High Commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom, holding the position from 1916 to 1920. After a brief return to Australia, he retired to London, dying there at the age of 66. His cumulative total of just under five years as prime minister is the second-longest by an ALP leader, surpassed only by Bob Hawke.
Fisher was born on 29 August 1862 in Crosshouse, a mining village 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Kilmarnock, Scotland. He was the second of eight children born to Jane (née Garven or Garvin) and Robert Fisher; he had one older brother, four younger brothers, and two younger sisters. His younger sister died at the age of 10 in 1879, the only one of the siblings not to live to adulthood. Fisher's mother was the daughter of a blacksmith and worked as a domestic servant. On his father's side, he was descended from a long line of Ayrshire coalminers. According to family tradition, his paternal grandfather was persecuted for his involvement in the fledgling union movement, and on one occasion was left homeless with five young children. Although he was probably only partially literate, Fisher's father was prominent in the local community and involved with various community organisations. He was the leader of a temperance society, and in 1863 was one of ten miners who co-founded a cooperative society. He and his family were active members of the Free Church of Scotland.
Fisher spent most of his childhood living in a miners' row, which had an earthen floor and no running water. He was kicked in the head by a cow as a small child, leaving him mostly deaf in one ear. The injury may have contributed to a childhood speech impediment and his reserved nature as an adult. As a boy, Fisher and his brothers fished in Carmel Water, a tributary of the River Irvine, and enjoyed long walks across the countryside. He was athletic, helping form a local football team, and stood 178 centimetres (5 ft 10 in) as an adult, above the average at the time. In later life, Fisher recalled attending four schools as a boy. The exact details are uncertain, but he is known to have finished his schooling in Crosshouse and to have attended a school in nearby Dreghorn for a period. The standard of public education in Scotland was relatively high at the time, and his schoolmaster in Crosshouse had received formal training in Edinburgh; the main focus of the curriculum was on the three Rs. He later supplemented his limited formal education by attending night school in Kilmarnock and reading at the town library.
The exact age at which Fisher left school is uncertain, but he could have been as young as nine or as old as thirteen. He is believed to have begun his working life as a coal trapper, opening and closing the trapdoors that allowed for ventilation and the movement of coal. He was later placed in charge of the pit ponies, and finally took his place performing "pick-and-shovel work" at the coalface. When he was 16, he was promoted to air-pump operator, which required additional training and was seen as a relatively prestigious position. Fisher's father had black lung disease, and gave up mining around the same time as his oldest sons began working. He subsequently became the manager of the foodstore at the local cooperative, and the family moved out of miners' row. They later lived in Kilmaurs for a period, but eventually returned to Crosshouse and leased a small farm. Fisher's father then worked as a gardener and apiarist, supplementing his income with contract work repairing the machinery at local mines. He died of lung disease in 1887, aged 53.