Physical appearance obscured George Reid’s other qualities

*Continued from page 6

Since losing electoral ground in July 1898 Reid had relied on Labor support to govern However, dissatisfied with the performance of Reid’s government, in August 1899 Labor withdrew its support and a month later Reid was forced to resign

In the first federal general election in March 1901 Reid successfully contested the East Sydney seat and became Australia’s first federal Leader of the Opposition from 1901 to 1904 as leader of the Free Trade group.

On 18 August 1904, following the passing of an amendment against its Arbitration Bill led to the resignation of Prime Minister Chris Watson’s minority Labor government, which had lasted just four months, and Reid was appointed Prime Minister

Reid, who had crusaded against the bill’s ‘socialism’, was commissioned to form a government of Free Traders, and then governed in an uneasy alliance with some Protectionists, notably not Alfred Deakin

A large man with a bushy moustache, Reid delighted cartoonists, who made much of his physical appearance and forceful debating style. Their caricatures of him, and criticism by opponents such as Alfred Deakin and Chris Watson, obscured other qualities he had, such as his renowned good humour, wit, skill in debate, and (as author of four books) talent as a writer.

Reid retained his prime ministership for 10 months and 17 days, until resigning on 5 July 1905 The resignation of Reid’s Free Trade government occurred after Deakin moved a successful amendment to the Address-in-Reply, which Reid regarded as the withdrawal of the Protectionists’ support. Alfred Deakin was then commissioned to form his second government, which took office that day

After losing office Reid reverted to being Opposition Leader, a position he occupied over the next three years, though d e l e g a t i n g much to his d e p u t y , Joseph Cook, so he could spend more time in his Sydney legal practice. He finally stood aside for Cook in 1908

In 1909 Reid became a King’s Counsel and in December was appointed as Australia’s first High Commissioner to the UK, He retired from federal politics to take up this position, which became effective on 26 February 1910 He remained High Commissioner in London for the next six years

After the outbreak of the First World War he persuaded Lord Kitchener, Commander-in-Chief of the UK Army, to have Australian troops trained in Egypt, arguing that bringing them directly into a European winter could impair their health

During that war, his wife Flora Reid worked to provide services to the Australian troops For this, in 1917 she was made a Dame Grand Cross of the British Empire, one of the first to receive the award After completing his term as High Commissioner, Reid was offered a seat in the UK House of Commons He was elected unopposed to the St George’s Hanover Square seat at a by-election on 15 January 1916 and continued to live in London until his death there, two months before the end of the First World War on 12 September 1918

*This is the last in the series about the Prime Ministers of Australia We thank the special writers who contributed to this feature, Ron Borg, Joe Buttigieg, Ivan Cauchi and Lawrence Dimech We are proud to have such writers committed to The Voice of the Maltese