Richard Foster (Australian politician)

Richard Witty Foster (20 August 1856 – 5 January 1932) was an Australian politician.

Foster was born in Goodmanham, Pocklington, Yorkshire, England and educated at at Prospect House, Tockwith and apprenticed to a draper. He emigrated to South Australia in 1880 and established a business as a grocer and general provider at Quorn. He married Elizabeth Lees in September 1884. He was elected to Quorn council in 1887 and was mayor from 1890 to 1893.Australian Dictionary of Biography
last=McDonald
first=D. I.
authorlink=
year=1981
id=A080575b
title= Foster, Richard Witty (1856 - 1932)
accessdate=2007-11-09]

Political career

In 1893, Foster was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly as the member for Newcastle. He was Commissioner for Public Works from 1899 to 1904 and Minister for Industry from 1902 to 1904 in the liberal governments of Frederick Holder and John Jenkins. He resigned from the ministry in 1904, but still supported Jenkins until it fell in 1905 and was then Commissioner for Public Works and Minister for Agriculture in the conservative administration of Richard Butler, but lost his seat in 1906.

Foster won the seat of Wakefield in the Australian House of Representatives for the Commonwealth Liberal Party. In December 1921, he was appointed Minister for Works and Railways in the Hughes ministry, but was dropped from the ministry in February 1923 by Stanley Bruce. He refused to join the South Australian Country Party and was beaten by its candidate, Maurice Collins in the 1928 elections.

Foster died in the Adelaide suburb of St Peters, survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

Notes

Persondata
NAME = Foster, Richard Witty
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH = 20 August 1856
PLACE OF BIRTH = Goodmanham, Pocklington, Yorkshire, England
DATE OF DEATH = 5 January 1932
PLACE OF DEATH = St Peters, South Australia