John Gunn (Australian politician)

For other people named John Gunn, see John Gunn (disambiguation).

John Gunn


29th Premier of South Australia Elections: 1921, 1924
In office 16 April 1924 – 28 August 1926
Monarch	George V
Governor	Sir Tom Bridges
Preceded by	Henry Barwell
Succeeded by	Lionel Hill
18th Leader of the Opposition (SA)
In office 1918–1924
Preceded by	Andrew Kirkpatrick
Succeeded by	Henry Barwell
7th Australian Labor Party (SA) leader
In office 1918–1926
Preceded by	Andrew Kirkpatrick
Succeeded by	Lionel Hill
Personal details
Political party	Australian Labor Party (SA)

John Gunn (16 December 1884 – 27 June 1959) was the 29th Premier of South Australia, leading the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party to government at the 1924 election.

Early life

Gunn was born in Bendigo, Victoria, the second of nine children to a Scottish miner and his wife. Gunn's father died when he was young, forcing him to work as a delivery boy to support his mother and siblings while studying at night classes.

Gunn worked a variety of jobs in Melbourne and in the Western Australian timber mills before returning to Melbourne to marry Haidee Smith on 8 September 1908.^[1] They then moved to Adelaide where Gunn found work as a horse-lorry driver on the Port Road. He soon became the President of the South Australian branch of the Federated Carters and Driver's Union and organised the 1910 Drivers' Strike, which secured reduced working hours, although he made enemies in the wealthy and influential Adelaide Establishment, who considered him a dangerous communist.

Politics

Gunn's success with the Carters and Driver's Union led to his election as President of the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia in 1911 and, as his star continued to rise, he was elected to Adelaide City Council in 1914, serving to 1916, when he became Federal President of the Federated Carters and Driver's Union.^[2]

"Greatly respected for his tactful courtesy and self-control", Gunn entered the South Australian House of Assembly at the 1915 election as a Labor member for the Electoral district of Adelaide. He soon emerged as a leading anti-conscriptionist in the bitter internal Labor fight over conscription which led to a split in the party. Resigning his seat, Gunn stood unsuccessfully for the federal House of Representatives Division of Boothby as an anti-conscriptionist candidate at the 1917 federal election but returned to state parliament by regaining his Adelaide seat at the 1918 state election.

While many Labor party members were opposed to conscription, party leadership, including premier Crawford Vaughan, were in favour and either resigned or were expelled from the party, leaving Labor with a rump of inexperienced members of parliament following their 1918 election loss. Gunn, aged 32, was elected leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition, a move that concerned the Establishment, who recalled the 1910 Driver's Strike and thought he should not be allowed near the reins of power. A media campaign against Gunn began in earnest.^[1]

The Labor Party lost the 1921 election but was able to regain a number of Adelaide-based seats they had lost in 1918 and, under Gunn's leadership, defeated Henry Barwell's Liberal Federation at the 1924 election following a split between the Liberal Federation and its erstwhile ally, the Country Party. Gunn became Premier and Treasurer of South Australia as well as Minister for Irrigation and Minister for Repatriation at age 39.

The Gunn Ministry. Gunn is seated centre.

As Premier, Gunn established the State Bank of South Australia and developed Colonel Light Gardens, one of Australia's first planned suburbs. He also improved public service working conditions, built more roads and encouraged rural settlement.^[3] A "Thousand Homes Scheme" was carried out to improve the quality and supply of housing for needy families, spending on education was increased, provided better medical facilities and new junior technical schools, higher wages for teachers, and more scholarships. Working conditions were also improved, while measures were undertaken to improve conditions in rural areas "with a visionary afforestation programme in addition to better roads and improvements in access to bore water and technical expertise in agriculture."^[4] His reforms impressed many and even received grudging praise from the previously hostile media, who realised he had mellowed into a more moderate figure than the strike leader of 15 years prior.

Gunn still raised the ire of conservatives through his plans to redraw the Assembly electorate boundaries, introduce a proportional representation electoral system, introduce adult franchise to the Legislative Council and establish a state government insurance commission, all of which were defeated by the conservative controlled Legislative Council.

Having gained a reputation as a competent administrator and Premier, Gunn surprised many when he suddenly resigned from the Premiership and parliament on 9 August 1926 to accept a Melbourne-based position with the Commonwealth Development and Migration Commission on a greatly improved salary. Lionel Hill took over the Labor leadership and Premiership. When the position ended, he accepted a federal government appointment in 1930 and moved to Canberra. When Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons declined to renew Gunn's contract in 1935, Gunn, estranged from his wife and family and possibly in debt, suffered a nervous breakdown. Little was known of his subsequent life.

Death

Gunn died in poverty in Waterfall, New South Wales. So far was his fall into obscurity that the South Australian media did not become aware of their former Premier's death for some weeks.^[1]

References

1 2 3 Blewett, Neal (1996). "Gunn, John (1884 - 1959)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
↑ Prest, W. & Round, K. (ed) (2001) Wakefield Companion to South Australian History, Wakefield Press, Adelaide. ISBN 1-86254-558-8
↑ John Gunn Biography, Parliament of South Australia (Accessed 21 May 2006)
↑ Ross McMullin, The Light on the Hill: The Australian Labor Party 1891-1991

External links

Parliament Profile

Political offices
Preceded by Andrew Kirkpatrick	Leader of the Opposition of South Australia 1918 – 1924	Succeeded by Henry Barwell
Preceded by Henry Barwell	Premier of South Australia 1924 – 1926	Succeeded by Lionel Hill
		Succeeded by Lionel Hill
Preceded by William Hague	Treasurer of South Australia 1924 – 1926
Parliament of South Australia
Preceded by Edward Anstey	Member for Adelaide 1915–1917 Served alongside: Reginald Blundell, Bill Denny	Succeeded by Bert Edwards
Preceded by Reginald Blundell	Member for Adelaide 1918–1926 Served alongside: Bert Edwards, Bill Denny	Succeeded by Herbert George
Party political offices
Preceded by Andrew Kirkpatrick	Leader of the Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) 1918 – 1926	Succeeded by Lionel Hill

Premiers of South Australia

B. T. Finniss John Baker Robert Torrens Richard Hanson Thomas Reynolds George Waterhouse Francis Dutton Henry Ayers Arthur Blyth Francis Dutton Henry Ayers John Hart James Boucaut Henry Ayers John Hart Henry Ayers Henry Strangways John Hart Arthur Blyth Henry Ayers Arthur Blyth James Boucaut John Colton James Boucaut William Morgan John Cox Bray John Colton John Downer Thomas Playford II John Cockburn Thomas Playford II Frederick Holder John Downer Charles Kingston Vaiben Solomon Frederick Holder John Jenkins R. Butler Thomas Price Archibald Peake John Verran Archibald Peake Crawford Vaughan Archibald Peake Henry Barwell John Gunn Lionel Hill R.L. Butler Lionel Hill Robert Richards R.L. Butler Thomas Playford IV Frank Walsh Don Dunstan Steele Hall Don Dunstan Des Corcoran David Tonkin John Bannon Lynn Arnold Dean Brown John Olsen Rob Kerin Mike Rann Jay Weatherill

Leaders of the Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch)

John McPherson Lee Batchelor Thomas Price John Verran Crawford Vaughan Andrew Kirkpatrick John Gunn Lionel Hill Edgar Dawes Andrew Lacey Robert Richards Mick O'Halloran Frank Walsh Don Dunstan Des Corcoran John Bannon Lynn Arnold Mike Rann Jay Weatherill

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.