Archibald Peake

Archibald Peake

Archibald Henry Peake (15 January 1859 – 6 April 1920) was an Australian liberal conservative politician and Premier of South Australia.

Early Life and career

Peake's family migrated from Chelsea, London in 1862, initially settled in Victoria, before moving to South Australia two years later. Peake was educated at state schools under his father, but in later life widened his education by studying in English history and literature. He entered the service of the district council of Narracoorte, became district clerk in 1878. In 1893 he contested Albert in an election for the House of Assembly and was beaten by 50 votes, but four years later won the seat by two votes. He resigned his position as district clerk when he entered politics, and afterwards was in business at Mount Barker as a member of the firm of auctioneers, Monks and Peake.


=Parliamentarian= Peake was elected to Parliament as the Member for Albert representing Narracorte. After his election, Peake was at first an independent supporting the Liberal Governments of Charles Kingston and Frederick Holder. He became disillusioned with the Government of John Jenkins leading him to become leader of a group of 15 members under the Liberal banner.

Peake's group joined the Labor Government of Thomas Price in a coalition with Peake holding the positions of Treasurer and Attorney General after they won a six-seat majority. As Treasurer, he delivered three surplus budgets in a row as agricultural conditions improved.

In the 1906 election, Labor came close to a majority in their own right. However, Peake and his party resisted a change to the arrangements and it was only his good relationships with Price that held the coalition together. Peake had formed the Liberal and Democratic Union which had a network of branches in 1906.

Premier

After Price's death, the Labor Party demanded the Premier position for its new leader John Verran. Price refused and was able to form a Government which lasted for a year. The Liberal and Democratic Union relied on support from the conservative Australasian National League and the Farmers' and Producers' Political Union with representatives of both parties joining the Government.

Following the Labor victory in 1910, the Liberal and Democratic Union merged with its former coalition partners to form the Liberal Union under Peake's leadership. It was affiliated with the Commonwealth Liberal Party at the Federal level. Peake was elected as Premier in 1912 as Verran's Government had been unable to deal with a number of significant industrial disputes.

His Government created the Industrial Arbitration Court which established a minimum wage for state awards but limited the right to strike. During his premiership, he reached agreement with the Federal, New South Wales and Victorian Governments over the Murray River leading to the River Murray Commission which is now the Murray-Darling Basin Commission. Peake was a teetotaller Presbyterian who held a plebiscite establishing six o'clock closing for hotels in 1915 which became the law in South Australia for the next fifty years.

Peake lost to the Labor Party under Crawford Vaughan and lost his seat. However, he was elected as Member for Alexandra and became Leader of the Opposition. Vaughan lost his majority after the Labor Party split over conscription. Peake became Premier of a coalition government of Liberals and Nationalist Party of Australia members.

This government reformed apprenticeship arrangements and reformed divorce laws. It enjoyed a solid majority in the 1918 elections and established soldier settlements. However, the Nationalists crossed the floor to amend the Industrial Code Bill in concert with the ALP leading Peake to demand their full support. They refused leading Peake to form a totally Liberal Government. However, he died of a cerebral haemorrhage hours after the new Ministry was sworn in.

References

*Grainger, G. Peake, Archibald Henry (1859 - 1920), " [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110181b.htm Australian Dictionary of Biography] ", Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, pp 175-177.
*Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Archibald Henry|Last=Peake|Link=http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogP-Q.html

External links

* [http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/pp/html/peake.shtm Archibald Peake] profile on SA Parliament website


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Peake (surname) — Peake is a surname, and may refer to:* Archibald Peake, an Australian conservative politician and Premier of South Australia. * Arthur Peake, (born 1865), British biblical scholar * Brett Peake, Australian rules footballer * Frederick Gerard… …   Wikipedia

  • Peake, South Australia — Peake (coord|35|21|S|139|57|E|type:city region:AU SA) is a small rural community in South Australia situated along the Mallee Highway (B12), approximately 150km east of Adelaide. It has a population of about 60.HistoryPeake was settled in 1912 as …   Wikipedia

  • PEAKE, Archibald Henry (1859-1920) — premier of South Australia was born in London on 15 January 1859. He came to Australia with his parents in 1862 and lived at Geelong, Victoria. In 1864 his father moved to South Australia where he entered the education department. Peake was… …   Dictionary of Australian Biography

  • Peake — /pik/ (say peek) noun Archibald Henry, 1859–1920, Australian politician, born in England; premier of SA 1909–10, 1912–15 and 1917–20 …  

  • Crawford Vaughan — 27th Premier of South Australia Elections: 1915 In office 3 April 1915 – 14 July 1917 Preceded by Archibald Peake Succeeded by …   Wikipedia

  • Premier ministre d'Australie-Méridionale — Liste des Premiers Ministres d Australie Méridionale. Jusqu en 1890, il n existait pas de parti politique officiel No. Nom Parti Prise de fonction Fin de fonction Durée de mandat 1 Boyle Finniss 24 octobre 1856 21 août 1857 301 jours …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liberal and Democratic Union — The Liberal and Democratic Union was a political party formed by early South Australian liberals, as opposed to the conservatives. It was formed in 1906 when liberal party structures were becoming more solid. Its leader, Archibald Peake, stressed …   Wikipedia

  • Premier Ministre d'Australie-Meridionale — Premier Ministre d Australie Méridionale Liste des Premiers Ministres d Australie Méridionale. Jusqu en 1890, il n existait pas de parti politique officiel No. Nom Parti Prise de fonction Fin de fonction 1 Boyle Finniss 24 octobre 1856 21 août… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Premier Ministre d'Australie-Méridionale — Liste des Premiers Ministres d Australie Méridionale. Jusqu en 1890, il n existait pas de parti politique officiel No. Nom Parti Prise de fonction Fin de fonction 1 Boyle Finniss 24 octobre 1856 21 août 1857 2 John Baker 21 août 185 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste der Premierminister von South Australia — Diese Liste zeigt die Premierminister (engl. premier) des australischen Bundesstaates South Australia. Nr. Name Partei Amtsantritt Rücktritt 01. Boyle Finniss 24. Oktober 1856 21 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”