Thomas Bavin

Infobox Officeholder
honorific-prefix = Sir
name = Thomas Bavin
honorific-suffix = KCMG


imagesize =
small

caption =
order = 24th
office = Premier of New South Wales
term_start = October 18, 1927
term_end = November 4, 1930
deputy =
predecessor = Jack Lang
successor = Jack Lang
constituency = Gordon (1917–20)
Ryde (1920–27)
Gordon (1927–35)
majority =
birth_date = birth date|1874|5|5
birth_place = Kaiapoi, Canterbury, New Zealand
death_date = death date and age|1941|8|31|1874|5|5
death_place = Bellevue Hill, New South Wales, Australia
restingplace =
restingplacecoordinates =
birthname = Thomas Rainsford Bavin
nationality = Australian
party = Nationalist
spouse = Edith Winchcombe
alma_mater = University of Sydney

Sir Thomas Rainsford Bavin, KCMG (5 May 1874 – 31 August 1941) was the 24th Premier of New South Wales.

Early years

Born in Kaiapoi, New Zealand to a Methodist minister and his wife, Bavin was educated at Auckland Grammar School until 1889 when his family moved to Sydney and Bavin enrolled at Newington College (1889-1890) [Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999) pp10] and the University of Sydney. There he came into conflict with his parents by renouncing Methodism (he later converted to Anglicanism), and graduated with a BA in 1894 and LL.B in 1897, winning the University Medal in the process.cite web
first=John
last=McCarthy
title =Bavin, Sir Thomas Rainsford
publisher =Australian National University
work=Australian Dictionary of Biography
url =http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070213b.htm?hilite=Bavin
accessdate = 2007-09-27]

Called to the New South Wales Bar in 1897, Bavin became involved in the cause of Australian Federation, unsuccessfully standing for the Legislative Assembly seat of Canterbury on a pro-Federation platform in 1898. After lecturing in law at the University of Tasmania in 1900 where he was acting professor of lawcite web
first=Percival
last=Serle
title =Bavin, Sir Thomas Rainsford
publisher =Project Gutenberg Australia
work=Dictionary of Australian Biography
url =http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogBa.html#bavin1
accessdate = 2007-08-23] , Bavin returned to Sydney to marry Edith Winchcombe, the daughter of Frederick Winchcombe, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and Council, on 6 February 1901, and serve as private secretary to Australia's first and second Prime Ministers, Sir Edmund Barton and Sir Alfred Deakin.

Bavin returned to the Bar in 1904 but found briefs scarce and so began writing op-ed pieces for Sydney newspapers, and, along with Deakin, serve as the Australian correspondent for the London "Morning Post" from 1907 to 1911. cite web
title =Guide to the Papers of Sir Thomas Bavin, Biographical Note
publisher =National Library of Australia
url =http://www.nla.gov.au/ms/findaids/0560.html
accessdate = 2007-05-01] In 1913, he inquired into food supplies and prices and went to sea on the trawlers to investigate pricing of fish in detail. He recommended an anti-monopoly bureau that could investigate prices and recommend prosecutions. Bavin was elected as an alderman to Willoughby Municipal Council in 1910. When World War I broke out he became a naval intelligence officer.

Political career

Bavin's attempts to enter federal parliament were thwarted, thrice losing Commonwealth Liberal Party pre-selection, due partly to his support for greater social welfare expenditure. He gained pre-selection for the Legislative Assembly seat of Albury in 1916 but the elections were deferred until 1917, when he was elected as the Nationalist Party member for Gordon in 1917, which he held to 1935, except during the period of proportional representation (1920-1927) when he was a member for Ryde.cite web
title =Sir Thomas Rainsford Bavin (1874 - 1941)
work =Members of Parliament
publisher =Parliament of New South Wales
url =http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/1fb6ebed995667c2ca256ea100825164/cdb5e8448533a362ca256c830002ea08!OpenDocument
accessdate = 2007-05-01]

Following his election, Bavin rapidly rose through the parliamentary ranks, becoming deputy leader of the Nationalists in October 1920 and served as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice in 1921 and Attorney-General from 1922-25. After the Nationalist loss at the 1925 election, Bavin was elected party leader (and by dint, Leader of the Opposition).

Following an agreement by the Nationalist and Country parties not to stand candidates against each other, the coalition won the 1927 election and Bavin became Premier and Treasurer on 18 October 1927.

During his term as Premier, Bavin introduced the "Income Tax (Management) Act" (1928), where the incomes of husband and wife were combined, and a progressive tax system introduced (angering many of his conservative supporters in the process). In reaction to Australian Labor Party calls to abolish the Legislative Council, Bavin pushed through legislation requiring a referendum to do so.

Bavin was plagued by ill health throughout his Premiership, absenting him from Cabinet during crucial times, especially in the wake of the Great Depression in 1929. Faced with a growing number of strikes, Bavin turned to non-unionised labour, which led to violent confrontations between striking workers and police.

Following the Nationalists loss in the 1930 election, Bavin continued to lead the party until 1932, when he joined the newly created United Australia Party. Appointed KCMG in 1933, Bavin retired from politics in 1935 to serve as a Justice of the New South Wales Supreme Court. Bavin also returned to writing, authoring a number of books, including "Thomas Rainsford Bavin: Extracts from his Speeches from 1923 until 1932" (1933), and "Sir Henry Parkes: His Life and Work" (1941).

Bavin died of cancer in the Sydney suburb of Bellevue Hill, survived by his wife, son and three daughters.

Honours

Bavin was appointed KCMG in 1933.

References

Persondata
NAME=Bavin, Thomas Rainsford
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=New South Wales politician and Premier of New South Wales
DATE OF BIRTH= 5 May 1874
PLACE OF BIRTH= Kaiapoi, New Zealand
DATE OF DEATH= 31 August 1941
PLACE OF DEATH= Bellevue Hill, New South Wales