William Irvine (Australian politician)

The Honourable
Sir William Irvine
GCMG
21st Premier of Victoria
In office
10 June 1902 – 16 February 1904
Preceded by Alexander Peacock
Succeeded by Thomas Bent
Constituency Lowan
9th Attorney-General of Australia
In office
24 June 1913 – 17 September 1914
Preceded by Billy Hughes
Succeeded by Billy Hughes
Constituency Flinders
Personal details
Born (1858-07-06)6 July 1858
Newry, County Down, Ireland
Died 20 August 1943(1943-08-20) (aged 85)
Toorak, Melbourne, Australia
Political party Commonwealth Liberal Party
Spouse(s) Agnes Somerville

Sir William Hill Irvine, GCMG (6 July 1858 – 20 August 1943), Irish born-Australian politician and judge, was the 21st Premier of Victoria. Irvine was born in Newry in County Down, Ireland, into a Scottish-Presbyterian family; he was the nephew of Irish revolutionary John Mitchel. He was educated at the Royal School, Armagh and Trinity College, Dublin, graduating in law in 1879 before migrating to Melbourne, where he taught in Presbyterian schools and read law at Melbourne University, gaining a master's degree in arts and law. He soon became a leading Melbourne barrister.[1]

Career

In 1894, Irvine was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as a liberal. He was Attorney-General 1899–1900 and 1902–03 and Solicitor-General in 1903. He succeeded George Turner as leader of the Victorian Liberals, but was much more conservative than either Turner or the federal Protectionist Party leader, Alfred Deakin. In 1902 he displaced the more liberal Alexander Peacock and became Premier and Treasurer, holding office until 1904, when he was succeeded by Thomas Bent.

In 1906, Irvine was elected to the Australian House of Representatives for the seat of Flinders. First elected as an independent Protectionist, he became a member of Deakin's Commonwealth Liberal Party in 1908. He was Attorney-General in Joseph Cook's Liberal government of 1913–14. He was considered a potential Prime Minister of Australia, but his abrupt manner and hard-line conservatism made him unacceptable to many Liberals: he was known in Parliament as "Iceberg Irvine."

Recognising this, Irvine accepted the appointment as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Victoria. He held this position from 1918 until 1935.

He was knighted KCMG in 1914 and made GCMG in 1936. A keen motorist, he was a founding member of the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) and was its patron from 1938 through 1943. In 1932 a painting of Irvine by Ernest Buckmaster won the Archibald Prize, Australia's best-known portrait prize.

1902 Irvine Ministry

On appointment 10 June 1902:[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Biography – Sir William Hill Irvine – Australian Dictionary of Biography
  2. ↑ "Latest intelligence - The new Victorian Cabinet". The Times (36790). London. 10 June 1902. p. 7.
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
Richard Baker		 Member for Lowan
1894–1906 		Succeeded by
Robert Stanley
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
James Gibb		 Member for Flinders
1906–1918 		Succeeded by
Stanley Bruce
Political offices
Preceded by
Isaac Isaacs		 Attorney-General of Victoria
1899–1900 		Succeeded by
Isaac Isaacs
Preceded by
Alexander Peacock		 Premier of Victoria
1902–1904 		Succeeded by
Thomas Bent
Preceded by
Sir Samuel Gillott		 Attorney-General of Victoria
1902–1903 		Succeeded by
John Mark Davies
Preceded by
Billy Hughes		 Attorney-General of Australia
1913–1914 		Succeeded by
Billy Hughes
Legal offices
Preceded by
John Madden		 Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Victoria
1918–1935 		Succeeded by
Frederick Mann
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