Reid, << reed >> Sir George (1845-1918), was prime minister of Australia from August 1904 to July 1905. Before becoming prime minister, he served as premier of New South Wales, Australia, from 1894 to 1899. He was the first state premier to become prime minister. Reid, the leader of the Free Trade Party, succeeded Prime Minister Chris Watson of the Federal Parliamentary Labour Party (forerunner of the Australian Labor Party). Reid was the only prime minister from the Free Trade Party.
Early life
Boyhood and education.
George Houstoun Reid was born on Feb. 25, 1845, near Paisley, Scotland. His parents were John Reid, a Presbyterian minister, and Marion Crybbace Reid. George was born at Johnstone, his father’s manse (minister’s home). The Reids moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 1852, when George was about 7 years old. At that time, Melbourne was the capital of the British colony of Victoria. In 1858, the family moved to Sydney, the capital of the colony of New South Wales. 
Colonial official and barrister.
Reid became an assistant accountant in the New South Wales Treasury in 1864. He then rose rapidly through the ranks of the colonial government. In 1878, he became head of the Attorney General’s Department, which administered the courts and justice programs of the colony.
While working for the colonial government, Reid wrote two books on economic and political matters. His book Five Essays on Free Trade (1875) argues for free trade, the policy of permitting the people of a country to buy and sell without restrictions. New South Wales, the Mother Colony of the Australias (1876) promotes immigration to the colony. Throughout his career, Reid strongly believed that free trade was important to developing Australian industry.
In 1876, Reid began to study law. He became a barrister (lawyer authorized to argue cases in the highest courts) in 1879.
Political career
Entry into politics.
In November 1880, Reid was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales. The Assembly was one of two chambers of the colony’s Parliament. Reid represented the district of East Sydney. From January 1883 to March 1884, he served as the colony’s minister of public instruction. In February 1884, he lost his seat in the Assembly because of a legal oversight. The laws of the colony neglected to list minister of public instruction as one of the positions that a member of Parliament could legally hold. Reid was reelected in October 1885 and held the seat until July 1894.
During the 1880’s, Reid also built up his law practice and became one of Sydney’s top barristers. In 1898, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom made him a queen’s counsel (QC), an honor given to senior barristers with successful practices.
Reid helped organize the Free Trade Party (officially named the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association) in 1889. In 1891, the Free Trade Party of New South Wales elected Reid as its leader. He then became leader of the opposition in the colony’s Legislative Assembly.
Marriage and family.
On Nov. 5, 1891, Reid married Florence Ann Brumby (1867-1950). Usually called Flora, she was the daughter of a Tasmanian farmer. Flora was more than 20 years younger than Reid. The couple had three children: Thelma, Douglas, and Clive.
Premier of New South Wales.
On July 17, 1894, the Free Trade Party won control of the Legislative Assembly, and Reid became premier of New South Wales. He served as both premier and treasurer for the next five years. In an election in July 1898, Reid’s party lost some of its seats. As a result, it had to rely on support from the Labour Electoral League, the New South Wales branch of the Labor Party, to form a government. The Labour Electoral League withdrew its support in August 1899. Reid was forced to resign as premier in September.
Election to the federal Parliament.
In 1901, New South Wales and the other five British colonies on the continent of Australia united, forming an independent country called the Commonwealth of Australia. The country elected its first Parliament on March 29, 1901. Reid won a seat in the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament.
The Protectionist Party won more seats in the House than any other party but not enough for a majority. As a result, it governed with the support of the Labor Party. The Protectionists favored the use of tariffs (taxes on imports) to make imported goods more expensive and thus to encourage consumers to buy from Australian businesses. The Protectionist leader Alfred Deakin became prime minister. The Free Traders formed the second largest group in the House, and Reid became Australia’s first leader of the opposition.
In elections in December 1903, the Protectionist, Free Trade, and Labor parties won nearly equal numbers of seats in Parliament. Deakin remained as prime minister, but his party lacked enough votes to pass legislation. As a result, he resigned in April 1904. The Labor Party then formed a minority government with its leader, Chris Watson, as prime minister. Labor held power for only about four months because it, too, lacked enough votes to pass legislation. Watson resigned on Aug. 18, 1904, and Reid replaced him as prime minister.
Prime minister.
As prime minister, Reid led a coalition (partnership) government of his party and the Protectionist Party. Former Prime Minister Deakin led the Protectionists. Only a few acts of Parliament passed during Reid’s time in office. The most important was the Conciliation and Arbitration Act of 1904, which established a court for settling industrial disputes. The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration soon made important decisions involving industrial issues and wages for workers. Reid resigned on July 5, 1905, after the Protectionist Party withdrew its support. Deakin replaced him as prime minister.
Later years
Reid went back to serving as opposition leader in the House. He remained in Parliament until he resigned on Dec. 24, 1909, to represent Australia in London as the country’s first high commissioner (ambassador) to the United Kingdom. King Edward VII of the United Kingdom gave him his first knighthood in 1909, and he became known as Sir George Reid. King George V later honored Reid with two other knighthoods, in 1911 and 1916. From 1910 to 1916, Sir George served as Australia’s high commissioner in London. He purchased the land and arranged for the building of Australia House in London, which houses the High Commission of Australia and other Australian government agencies.
In January 1916, Reid won a by-election (special election to fill a vacant seat) to the House of Commons in the British Parliament. He became the only Australian to serve in three parliaments—that of colonial New South Wales, that of the Commonwealth of Australia, and that of the United Kingdom. He died suddenly in London on Sept. 12, 1918. Before his death, he wrote an autobiography, My Reminiscences (1917).
In 1917, King George V honored Flora Reid by making her a Dame Grand Cross in the Order of the British Empire. She received the honor for her efforts to help wounded soldiers during World War I (1914-1918). She became known as Dame Florence Reid.
