Edmund Barton

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Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 1849 – 7 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1901 to 1903.

He resigned to become a founding member of the High Court of Australia, where he served until his death. Barton was an early supporter of the federation of the Australian colonies, and after the retirement of Henry Parkes came to be seen as the leader of the federation movement in New South Wales.

He was a delegate to the constitutional conventions, playing a key role in the drafting of a national constitution, and was one of the lead campaigners for federation in the subsequent referendums.

In late 1900, despite the initial "Hopetoun Blunder", Barton was commissioned to form a caretaker government as Australia's first prime minister.

His term began on 1 January 1901, the date on which federation occurred. At the first federal elections in March 1901, Barton and the Protectionists won the most seats, but were well short of a majority.

He was able to continue on as a prime minister by forming an alliance with the fledgling Labor Party, which held the balance of power.

The Barton Government established a number of new national institutions, including the Australian Defence Force and the Commonwealth Public Service.

It introduced nation-wide women's suffrage, and laid the foundations of the White Australia policy with the Immigration Restriction Act 1901. Barton left politics in 1903 to become one of the three founding members of the High Court, which his government had created.

He was succeeded as prime minister by Alfred Deakin.

On the court, Barton was able to shape the judicial interpretation of the constitution he had helped write.

Although he served 16 years on the High Court and less than three as prime minister, he is chiefly remembered for his political career.

Early life

Barton was born on 18 January 1849 in Glebe, Sydney, New South Wales. He was the eleventh of twelve children born to Mary Louisa (née Whydah) and William Barton. He had seven sisters and four brothers, including the writer George Burnett Barton. Three of his siblings died during his childhood. His given name had not previously been used in the family, and may have been in honour of the recently deceased explorer Edmund Kennedy. Barton's parents were both born in London, England, although his father's family was originally from Devon. They arrived in the Colony of New South Wales in 1827, and all but two of their children were born in Australia. William Barton worked variously as an accountant, bazaar proprietor, stockbroker, and real estate agent. His business ventures were not always successful, and he went bankrupt on one occasion.

Barton spent his early years in Glebe, but in 1851 the family moved into the inner city, living on Cumberland Street in The Rocks. He had a relatively comfortable upbringing, although his father faced financial difficulties on a number of occasions. To support the family during those periods, his mother ran a boarding school for girls. His parents were both highly literate, and his mother in particular "provided much of the direction and encouragement for Edmund's impressive academic achievement". Barton began his formal education at what is now the Fort Street Public School. He later attended Sydney Grammar School, possibly as one of the first students after the school's opening in 1857. One of his close friends in his youth was Richard O'Connor, who would eventually join him on the High Court. Barton was the dux and school captain at Sydney Grammar in 1863 and 1864. He matriculated to the University of Sydney in 1865, aged 16, and was awarded a special prize by the university senate. Barton failed to win one of the three entrance scholarships to Sydney University owing to 'an insufficiency of mathematics'.

At university, Barton specialised in classics but also studied English literature, mathematics, physics, and French. He became fluent in Ancient Greek and Latin, and retained a command of both later in life. A new professor, Charles Badham, arrived in 1867 and was a "profound influence". Barton won scholarships in his second and third years. He graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1868 with first-class honours, and was awarded the equivalent of the University Medal as well as a prize of £20. He proceeded to Master of Arts by examination in 1870.

Barton was a member of the Sydney University Cricket Club and a founding member of the Sydney Rowing Club. On a cricketing trip to Newcastle in 1870 he met Jane Mason Ross, whom he married in 1877.

In 1879, Barton umpired a cricket match at Sydney Cricket Ground between New South Wales and an English touring side captained by Lord Harris. After a controversial decision by Barton's colleague George Coulthard against the home side, the crowd spilled onto the pitch and assaulted some of the English players, leading to international cricket's first riot. In the subsequent public controversy, George Reid censured Coulthard and absolved the crowd, while Barton defended Coulthard and did not spare the crowd. The publicity that attended the young Barton's presence of mind in defusing that situation reputedly helped him take his first step towards becoming Australia's first prime minister, winning a state lower house seat later that year.

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