Notes

2nd prime minister

3 times 1903-1904
1905-1908
1909-1910

1 of 2 who held position 3 times

founding father

lawyer and journalist

wrote anonymous newspaper articles even as prime minister

His government introduced tariff protection and old age pensions.

Alfred Deakin was born on 3 August in 1856, in Collingwood (now part of Fitzroy), Victoria. He was the second of two children of William Deakin and Sarah Bill, who emigrated from England to Adelaide in 1849.

Alfred was educated at the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School and studied law at the University of Melbourne. He graduated in 1877 and was admitted as a barrister in 1878.

Deakin found little work and became a journalist with The Age newspaper. Throughout his later career in federal parliament he wrote regularly (and anonymously) for the London newspaper, Morning Post, commenting on Australian politics.

Deakin unsuccessfully contested West Bourke at the subsequent by-election, but won it again in July 1880. He held the seat until 1889, when he won Essendon, which he held until resigning in 1900 to enter federal politics.

Deakin was elected to the seat of West Bourke in the Victorian Legislative Assembly in February 1879. He resigned his seat soon after he delivered his maiden speech, following a press allegation that eligible voters had been excluded from voting.


Deakin attended the colonial conference in London in 1877 with the Victorian delegation, and impressed the United Kingdom statesmen with his comments on difficulties faced by self-governing colonies in dealing with the Imperial government.

Deakin attended the second Federal Convention in March 1897 as the third-placed popularly elected delegate for Victoria. He participated actively in convention debates but performed his main role beyond the conference hall, talking round anti-federationist delegates to appreciate the need for federal government.

Deakin emerged as Edmund Barton’s principal fellow advocate of federation in 1899, during the campaign for a referendum on the Constitution Bill, which had been amended to try to gain New South Wales’ support for federation.

On 3–4 June 1898 a referendum was held to approve the draft constitution. The constitution was accepted by the required majority in South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, but not New South Wales.

The second federation referendum was held in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria from April to September 1899. Voters in each colony approved the amended Constitution Bill by the required majority.

Deakin joined Barton’s delegation of six Australian politicians who went to London early in 1900 to negotiate amendments to the Constitution Bill with the UK Government. Deakin and Barton, by now close friends, performed outstandingly in a series of conferences with Secretary for Colonies Joseph Chamberlain.

Barton, the first Australian Prime Minister, chose Deakin as a member of his first ministry, assigning him the Attorney-General’s portfolio. Deakin retained this position throughout Barton’s time in office.

legislation on matters including financial relations between Commonwealth and states, the Immigration Restriction Act (1901) which became the basis of the White Australia policy, establishment of an Australian navy, and founding of the High Court of Australia.

Deakin took over as prime minister, leading a Protectionist government, on 24 September 1903 when Barton quit politics to become a judge of the newly instituted High Court.

second time on 5 July 1905 when George Reid resigned. Deakin’s minority government survived with Labor support. He retained power at the third general election on 12 December 1906, again with Labor support.

Deakin’s second Protectionist government fell on 13 November 1908 when Deakin resigned because he was not prepared to accept Labor’s ‘preference for unionists’ amendment

After losing office to Andrew Fisher’s Labor Party, Deakin arranged a merger of his followers in May 1909 (some were still known as Protectionists, while others were calling themselves Deakinites) with his former political foes, the Free Traders (now led by Joseph Cook, who had succeeded George Reid as leader of the group in November 1908). The new grouping was known as the Fusion.

On 2 June 1909 the Fusion defeated Fisher’s Labor government in parliament. Deakin was commissioned to form his third government, and Cook became his deputy.

1904: First national defence scheme
1906: Assumption of responsibility for the territory of Papua; establishment of the Bureau of Census and Statistics; Australian Industries Protection Act (linking tariffs with wages, forcing companies to pay fair wages)
1907: Bill for the transfer of control of the Northern Territory from South Australia to the Commonwealth; establishment of the Bureau of Meteorology; introduction of the basic wage concept in the Harvester judgement
1908: Choice of Canberra as the site for the federal capital; Old Age Pension Bill; national tariff protection policy giving 5 per cent margin of preference to UK manufactures; visit by the ‘Great White Fleet’ of USA to Australia; federal Quarantine Act replaced state acts for a uniform national quarantine system
1909: Former prime minister George Reid appointed as the first Australian High Commissioner to London
1910: Launch of the first Australian navy ships.

In ill health, Deakin resigned as Opposition Leader on 20 January 1913. He retired from politics when the fourth parliament expired on May 1913. Deakin’s ill health continued and he died from a stroke in South Yarra, Victoria, on 7 October 1919. He was buried in St Kilda Cemetery after a state funeral.