Sir George Houstoun Reid

Sir George Houstoun Reid in Europe

Sir George Houstoun Reid (1845-1918), Australian statesman, was born at Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Feb. 25 1845. His father, a Presbyterian minister, emigrated to Australia seven years later, and the boy was therefore Australian by education though not by birth. At the age of 13 he became a junior clerk in a business house in Sydney, but later entered the N.S.W. civil service and began to read for the bar, being finally called in 1879. Politics attracted him more than law, and in 1880 he was elected member for E. Sydney, together with Sir Henry Parkes but above him in the poll. He stood as a free trader, a policy to which he adhered throughout his political career, and with one short break (1884-5) he represented E. Sydney in the N.S.W. Legislature until 1901 when he was elected its representative in the Federal Parliament. He first held office in N.S.W. for a brief period in 1883-4 as Minister of Public Instruction. In 1894 he became its Premier and during his term of office (1894-9) introduced reforms into the civil service and represented the Colony at Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. He did much to promote Federation and from 1901-9 led the free-trade party in the Federal Parliament, becoming Premier for a short period (1904-5) but being for the most part leader of the Opposition. When the Act to constitute an Australian High Commissionership was passed in 1909 Sir George Reid became the first High Commissioner and was created K.C.M.G. He represented his country in London in genial fashion until 1916, and at the end of his term of office stood for the British House of Commons and was elected for the St. George’s Hanover Square division of London Jan. 1916. He was created G.C.M.G. in 1911 and G.C.B. in 1916. He published My Reminiscences (1917), as well as Five Free Trade Essays (1875), and other economic papers. He died suddenly in London, Sept. 12 1918.

Political Party Activity

Freetrade Party 1901 – 1904; Leader 1901 – 1904

Qualifications, occupations and interests

Lawyer (Barrister). Arrived in Australia with parents in 1852. Educated at the Melbourne Academy (later Scotch College). Journeyed to New South Wales in 1858. Clerk in Sydney merchant’s office to 1864; Colonial Treasury 1864-1878; Secretary to the Attorney-General 1878-1880; Called to Bar 1879; Queens Counsel in 1898. High Commissioner for Australia, London, 1910- 1916. Represented New South Wales at Federal Convention 1897. Attended Diamond Jubilee celebrations in England 1897. Author of Five Freetrade Essays 1875; New South Wales the Mother Colony of the Australians, 1878.

Honours Received

Honorary Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) Oxford University (UK) in 1897. Privy Councillor in 1897. Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1909. Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in 1911. Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in 1916.

Membership of other Parliaments (other than the Parliament of New South Wales) & Offices Held

Member of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. Member of the House of Representatives for East Sydney 1901 – 1909. Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for External Affairs 1904 – 1905. Leader of the Federal Freetrade Party and of the Opposition 1901 – 1904. Member of the British Parliament: House of Commons seat of St George’s, Hanover Square, 1916 – 1918.

Personal

Youngest son of the Reverend John Reid, Presbyterian Minister and his wife Marion Crybbace (d. 1885). Married Flora Ann Brumby on 5 November 1891 in Thornton Cressy, Tasmania. Presbyterian.

Further Reading

McGinn, W.G. (1989). George Reid. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
Hughes, Colin A (1976), Mr Prime Minister. Australian Prime Ministers 1901-1972, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, Victoria, Ch.5


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