Leaders

The Nationals Leaders & Deputy Leaders

Prepared by the Parliamentary Library

Sources:

The Age
Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates
Ellis, Ulrich. A History of the Australian Country Party. Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1963.
Page, Earle. Earle Page, Melbourne, Black Inc., 2001.
Parliamentary Handbook
Sydney Morning Herald
compiled by Rob Lundie
13 July 2004

^IA list prepared by the National Party Secretariat puts the date at 22 January 1920. However, Earle Page in his autobiography, Earle Page , p.85, says 'Two days before Parliament assembled on 26 th February 1920 a meeting was called of all the elected members . [It was decided] to appoint a Country Party leader for a short period and . to delay a final choice . . W. J. McWilliams and Harry Gregory, were chosen as temporary leader and deputy.' In the Sydney Morning Herald 26 February 1920 (Country Party: Mr McWilliams Leader) a report written on 25 February said 'all three parties in the Federal Parliament held their pre-sessional meetings today'. It reported that McWilliams had been appointed Leader and Jowett Deputy Leader. This information is supported by a similar report in The Age. Therefore, I have taken 25 February 1920 as when Mc Williams and Jowett began their leadership roles.

^IIThe list prepared by the National Party Secretariat puts the date at 8 September 1939. However, Ellis in his A History of the Australian Country Party , p.248, says 'On 8 September Page announced that he proposed to resign the leadership. . His resignation was tendered to a meeting on 13 September . [A. G.] Cameron was elected and H. V. C. Thorby was retained as deputy leader.'

In January 1923 Page took leave of absence for several months following the death of his son. Thomas Paterson was appointed acting leader during this period. [Page, p.263]

^IIIEdmund Jowett's entry by Joan Rydon in the Australian Dictionary of Biography [9:525] says: '. in January 1920, [he] was chosen as deputy leader of the new parliamentary Country Party.' However, this fact is not supported by other sources. Nevertheless, it seems pretty clear that Jowett was the first Deputy Leader and that his term began on 25 February 1920 (see footnote i above).

^IVHansard 6 April 1921, p.7181 records Dr Earle Page saying: 'I desire to inform the House that at a meeting of the Australian Country Party held yesterday, the honourable member for Corangamite (Mr Gibson) was elected secretary, the honourable member for Dampier (Mr Gregory) Deputy Leader, and myself Leader of the party.'

^VThe exact date is not known but was about 24 November. Ellis (p.65-6) says that when Joseph Cook resigned from the Treasury to become High Commissioner on 11 November 1921, he took the initiative by inviting the Country Party to accept two portfolios in his government. Gregory and Fleming both claimed later that Hughes had made direct approaches offering them portfolios. Page reported the offer to his party on 24 November.' Page put forward other conditions. 'Hughes declined to bind himself to these stringent conditions and a final offer of three portfolios was rejected by the Country Party. Gregory forthwith resigned from the deputy-leadership of the party in protest against the rejection. The position remained vacant until July the following year when Fleming, who had also favoured coalition with Hughes, was appointed.' Despite Ellis' assertion, Earle Page in 'Truant Surgeon' (p.90) says: 'Fleming had assumed the deputy-leadership at Gregory's resignation in November 1921. Although I was able to find no confirmation of either report in Hansard nor in the SMH, he was referred to as deputy leader in the SMH on 8 July 1922.

^VIThis was the date of the election at which he was defeated. It is not known exactly when he was no longer deputy leader.