John Christian Watson was the world’s first Labour (Labor) Prime Minister and visited Wagga just days before he was forced to quit. Photo: National Library of Australia.
In the wake of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s surprise visit to Wagga Wagga last week, we are looking back 121 years to the inaugural visit of the Labour (Labor) Prime Minister who was also our local member.
It is not often that Australian Prime Ministers grace the Riverina with their presence and in August 1904, the city of Wagga Wagga rolled out the red carpet for the honorable John Christian Watson, who visited his constituents in the division of The Bland for the first time since his elevation.
Born in Chile to German parents, Watson grew up in New Zealand before moving to Australia at 19. He soon became involved in the rapidly growing Labour movement.
The rise of the trade unions in the late 19th century had sent shockwaves through Australian industry and in little over a decade, the “workers party” had become a political force to be reckoned with.
Watson was a founding member of the Labour Electoral League of NSW and was in the thick of things in the lead-up to Federation, as Labour representatives pushed back on what they saw as an autocratic approach.
In the inaugural election of 1901, Watson stood for the seat of The Bland that covered much of Central and Southern NSW. He was one of 16 Labour representatives to take their place in the temporary Parliament building in Melbourne.
While he was a fierce advocate for the rights of the working man, Watson also held strong white nationalist views and opposed non-European immigration. Like his contemporaries he supported the creation of a White Australia Policy and spoke out against foreign laborers and “racial contamination”.
In the 1903 federal elections, it was almost a three-way tie as the Labour Party claimed similar numbers to Alfred Deakin’s Protectionists and George Reid’s Free Traders.
Deakin briefly served as Australia’s second prime minister before the ALP withdrew its support in early 1904 and became a global sensation, forming the world’s first national Labour government.
On April 27 1904, the 37-year-old Watson became Australia’s third prime minister and remains its youngest.
Watson did not have any direct links to the Riverina but was nevertheless embraced as Wagga’s local representative when he visited several months after being sworn in.
In describing the occasion, the Wagga Wagga Express hinted at the controversy that surrounded his elevation and the barrage of newspaper attacks that linked this “socialist” upstart to the horrors of the French Revolution.
“There was a commendable desire on the part of the townsmen to sink all party differences and accord a right royal welcome,” declared the Express.
All the local luminaries were on the platform to welcome the PM with applause. He was conveyed to the Town Hall where the Mayor William Blake acknowledged his arrival in the “centre of the electorate of The Bland which you represent in the parliament”.
“We are naturally conscious of the high office which has been conferred on you, as in no small way reflecting on the constituency of which you are the capable and trusted representative,” Blake said.
In reply, Watson apologised for having given the short notice ahead of his visit and thanked the citizens of Wagga for a reception that showed that “in Australia at least, no matter what may be the political opinion of the men who hold responsible positions, when they come among the citizens they are always received with fair play, respect and honour to the positions which they happen to hold”.
Over dinner, the Mayor and Councillors toasted the PM, with many adding that he was welcome – despite their strong opposition to his politics.
Unfortunately for Watson, his tenuous grip on power had already begun to slip and less than two weeks after his visit to Wagga, on 18 August 1904, he resigned after just 113 days in the job.
Former premier and leader of the Free Traders Party George Reid became Australia’s fourth prime minister and the fourth man to hold the office in just 11 months.
