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Deakin was born in Melbourne, his
family had migrated from England during
the gold rushes. He graduated in
law from the University of Melbourne
in 1877 but moved into journalism.
He stood for Victorian Parliament,
was elected in 1879 and held a number
of portfolios. He was the key figure
in promoting Federation in Victoria
during the 1890s, playing a similar
role to Edmund Barton in New South
Wales.
In the first House of Representatives
Deakin became attorney-general in
Barton’s Protectionist ministry and
replaced Barton as prime minister
when he moved to the High Court in
1903. His second ministry, which
began in 1905 with the support of
the Labor Party, brought about the
establishment of the industrial arbitration
system, tariff protection, the beginning
of social welfare with the introduction
of old age pensions, and with the
outlining of defence policies. This
ministry ended when Labor withdrew
its support. In 1909 Deakin became
prime minister again by joining with
his former Free Trade opponents in
the Fusion government. With the defeat
of this government by Labor at the
1910 election, Deakin ended his parliamentary
career as leader of the opposition.
He retired in 1913.
[ref : ‘Dictionary of Famous Australians’
Ann Atkinson (Allen & Unwin, 1995)]
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