George Pearce
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George Pearce was an Australian politician who was instrumental in founding the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia.
Pearce, a carpenter, was born in 1870 in South Australia, moving to Western Australia in 1891. In 1893, Pearce helped found the Progressive Political League, a precursor to the West Australian branch of the ALP. Self-educated in politics and economics, in 1901 he was elected to the first Commonwealth Parliament as a Senator for Western Australia. He narrowly missed out on being a member of the first Labor Party Cabinet when Chris Watson became Prime Minister in 1904. In 1908, he became Minister for Defence in the Cabinet of Andrew Fisher. He oversaw the foundation of the naval college at Jervis Bay and Royal Military College, Duntroon. In 1914 Australia entered World War I. Upon Billy Hughes' ascension as Prime Minister, Pearce was named Deputy Leader of the party.
By this time, Australia's prosecution of the war made the introduction of conscription an intensely divisive issue for the ALP. Pearce was convinced of the necessity of introducing conscription, but the majority of his party did not agree. Pearce, along with many other of the party's founding members, subsequently followed Hughes out of the party and into a new "National Labor" (later Nationalist Party of Australia) ministry.
Most of the defectors to the Nationalists subsequently faded into obscurity, but Pearce went on to have a successful career in the party of his erstwhile opponents. After Hughes was deposed as Nationalist leader, Pearce accepted a position in the ministry of Hughes' successor and rival, Stanley Bruce. Pearce remained in the Parliament until 1938. By that time he was the last member of the original Australian Senate elected in 1901 still in the Senate.
RAAF Base Pearce is named after him.
| Preceded by Billy Hughes |
Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party 1915–1916 |
Succeeded by Albert Gardiner |
