Henry Parkes

Henry Parkes
7th Premier of New South Wales
Elections: 1872, 1874–75, 1877, 1880, 1882, 1887, 1889, 1891
In office
14 May 1872 – 8 February 1875
MonarchVictoria
GovernorSir Hercules Robinson
Preceded byWAS; Sir James Martin
Succeeded byWAS; Sir John Robertson
ConstituencyMudgee
East Sydney
In office
22 March 1877 – 16 August 1877
MonarchVictoria
GovernorSir Hercules Robinson
Preceded bySir John Robertson
Succeeded bySir John Robertson
ConstituencyEast Sydney
In office
21 December 1878 – 9 January 1883
MonarchVictoria
GovernorSir Hercules Robinson
Augustus Loftus
Preceded byJames Farnell
Succeeded bySir Alexander Stuart
ConstituencyCanterbury
East Sydney
Tenterfield
In office
25 January 1887 – 16 January 1889
MonarchVictoria
GovernorThe Lord Carrington
Preceded bySir Patrick Jennings
Succeeded bySir George Dibbs
ConstituencySt Leonards
In office
8 March 1889 – 23 October 1891
MonarchVictoria
GovernorThe Lord Carrington
The Earl of Jersey
Preceded bySir George Dibbs
Succeeded bySir George Dibbs
ConstituencySt Leonards
Personal details
Born27 May 1815
Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Died27 April 1896(1896-04-27) (aged 80)
Sydney, Colony of New South Wales
Resting placeFaulconbridge, New South Wales
CitizenshipBritish subject
NationalityAustralian
Political partyFree Trade Party
Spouse(s)Clarinda Varney (m. 1836 – d. 1888)
Eleanor Dixon (m. 1889 – d. 1895)
Julia Lynch (m. 1895 – 1896; his death)
ChildrenThomas
Clarinda Martha
Clarinda Sarah
Robert
Mary
Mary Edith
Milton
Lily Maria
Annie
Gertrude
Varney
Lily Faulconbridge
Sydney
Kenilworth
Aurora
Henry Cobden
Charles Jessel
ProfessionStatesman

Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG (27 May 1815[1] – 27 April 1896)[2] was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia. He has been referred to as the "Father of Federation" due to his early promotion for the federation of the six colonies of Australia, as an early critic of British convict transportation and as a proponent for the expansion of the Australian continental rail network.[3][4]

Parkes delivered his famous Tenterfield Oration in 1889, which yielded a federal conference in 1890 and a Constitutional Convention in 1891,[5] the first of a series of meetings that led to the federation of Australia. He died in 1896, five years before this process was completed. He was described during his lifetime by The Times as "the most commanding figure in Australian politics". Alfred Deakin described Sir Henry Parkes as having flaws but nonetheless being "a large-brained self-educated Titan whose natural field was found in Parliament".[2]

  1. ^ Mennell, Philip (1892). "Parkes, Hon. Sir Henry" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
  2. ^ a b Martin, A W. "Parkes, Sir Henry (1815–96)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Federation". Australian Government. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  4. ^ Green, Antony (20 October 2010). "Centenary of the First NSW Labor Government". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010.
  5. ^ Serle, Percival (1949). "Parkes, Sir Henry (1816–1896)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 22 October 2019.