George houstoun reid biography children

He was the youngest of five sons and fifth of seven children of Reverend John Reid , a Presbyterian minister, and Marion Crybbace. George attended Scotch College in Melbourne. When he arrived in Sydney at thirteen, George was placed as a junior clerk in a merchant's counting-house. In he became an assistant accountant in the Colonial Treasury.

He began studying law in and was appointed secretary of the Attorney General's Department in On 19th September George was admitted to the Bar. His decision to study law was essentially motivated by his political ambitions. As a public servant he could not sit in parliament, but he now had a profession which might enable him to enter politics.

He was not prepared to sacrifice his busy social life and had to devote much time to establishing his Bar practice; he was not therefore a very active member during his early years in parliament, though he took up the cause of a free public library and was responsible for an important measure on the width of streets and lanes. In October he introduced the bill which inaugurated degree courses for evening students at the University of Sydney.

George reid children

In January George was unseated because of an administrative oversight; suffering the only defeat of his career in the subsequent by-election. In the two years which followed he laid the basis of an extremely prosperous practice at the Bar. He was an acknowledged leader of the Bar long before he took silk in As was also a keen supporter, although deservedly wary, of the movement towards Federation.

George won an effective majority in the July election, and on 2nd August took office as Premier and Treasurer. In , George's government was defeated on the floor of the Assembly by a bizarre combination of Edmund Barton's Protectionists, the Labor Party, Federation enthusiasts and die-hard anti-Federation free traders; resulting in his resignation as Premier.

It was widely believed that the Premier of New South Wales would be invited to form the first Commonwealth ministry; and this is exactly what happened, with Edmund Barton being named the first Prime Minister of Australia in January