Robert Richards
Encyclopedia
Hon. Robert Stanley “Bob” Richards (31 May 1885 – 24 April 1967) was the 32nd Premier of South Australia.
Born in Moonta, South Australia
, the youngest of twelve children to Cornish
miner Richard Richards and his wife Mary, Richards was locally educated before leaving school at age 13 to work in the Moonta mines, initially in menial jobs and later as a carpenter.
In his early twenties Richards moved to Burnie, Tasmania
to manage a copper
mine before returning to Moonta, where he married Ada Dixon on 31 January 1914. Richards also became involved with the labour movement and was elected President of the mining section of the Australian Workers Union in 1917, proving himself to be a forceful and competent leader. A lay Methodist preacher, Freemason and keen cricket
er and Australian rules football
er, Richards was a popular and well known local identity and it came as no surprise when he sought Australian Labor Party
preselection.
Elected to the Electoral district of Wallaroo (which covered Moonta) in the South Australian House of Assembly
at the 1918 election
, Richards quickly gained a reputation in parliament for his leadership and debating abilities and following Labor’s victory at the 1924 election
, Richards was named Chairman of Committees, firstly in the John Gunn
led government and, following Gunn's resignation, in Lionel Hill
’s cabinet.
Ousted from government at the 1927 election
by the Richard Layton Butler
led Liberal Federation
, South Australia
first enjoyed the boom of the 1920s and then suffered the onset of the Great Depression
. The 1930 election
was highlighted by Butler’s warning to voters that the Depression would worsen before it improved and Labor leader Hill’s promise of a master plan to solve the problems of the Depression. Labor was swept to power and Richards appointed to the positions of Commissioner of Crown Lands, Minister of Mines and Marine and Minister of Labour and Employment.
Unfortunately, Labor did not have a master strategy to combat the Depression, and was instead forced to institute wage cuts and sweeping retrenchments in the public service as part of implementing the frugal measures of the 1931 Premier's Plan enacted to fight the Depression. The Premier’s Plan saw widespread discontent in South Australia, particularly within traditional working-class Labor supporters, resulting in the ALP state executive expelling the Hill cabinet (including Richards) from the Labor Party later in 1931.
Due to the support of the opposition, the Hill Cabinet remained precariously in power until February 1933 when Hill happily resigned as Premier nine weeks before the 1933 election
to move to London as Australian Agent-General. This abrupt departure left Richards a reluctant Premier, lacking public or party support.
Richards spent his nine weeks as Premier attempting to talk up the achievements of his cabinet but the effects of the Depression, a fragmented ALP (three Labor parties contested the election; the Parliamentary Labor Party, of which Richards was a member, the official ALP and Lang Labor
), and a revitalised opposition in the guise of the Butler led Liberal and Country League
, a merging of the Liberal Federation and the Country Party, led to a heavy defeat for Labor.
Richards spent the next year working to reunite the ALP and following his success, served as Deputy Leader of the party from 1934 (under the leadership of Andrew Lacey
) and, following another heavy defeat in 1938, where more independents were elected to parliament than ALP members, Richards was returned to the Labor leadership.
Richards remained opposition leader for 11 years, during which Labor increased its vote at three consecutive elections, but could not win government, because of the electoral gerrymander (known as the Playmander
). By 1949, Richards had suffered the death of his wife and, with the realisation that under the current electoral system there was little chance of Labor returning to government, retired from politics to serve as the Commonwealth Government’s Administrator of Nauru
, taking his new bride with him.
He returned from Nauru to Adelaide
in 1951; served as Director of Radio 5KA, then under Methodist control; and was appointed to the South Australian government Forestry Board in 1954. Playford, never afraid to make use of opponents’ skills for the greater good, also commissioned Richards to investigate issues relating to delinquent children, mining issues and housing.
Afflicted by diabetes, Richards nonetheless lived long enough to see a Labor government returned to South Australia (under the leadership of Premier Frank Walsh
) in 1965. He died in Moonta two years later, and received a state funeral.
Born in Moonta, South Australia
Moonta, South Australia
Moonta is a town located on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, 165 kilometres north-northwest of the state capital of Adelaide. It is one of three towns known as the Copper Coast or "Little Cornwall" for their shared copper mining history....
, the youngest of twelve children to Cornish
Cornish Australian
Cornish Australians are citizens of Australia whose ancestry originates in Cornwall, United Kingdom, one of the six Celtic Nations. They form part of the worldwide Cornish diaspora which also includes large numbers of people in the US, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico and many Latin...
miner Richard Richards and his wife Mary, Richards was locally educated before leaving school at age 13 to work in the Moonta mines, initially in menial jobs and later as a carpenter.
In his early twenties Richards moved to Burnie, Tasmania
Burnie, Tasmania
- Sport :Australian rules football is popular in Burnie. The city's team is the Burnie Dockers Football Club in the Tasmanian State League.Rugby union is also played in Burnie. The local club is the Burnie Rugby Union Club. They are the current Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide Division Two Premiers...
to manage a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
mine before returning to Moonta, where he married Ada Dixon on 31 January 1914. Richards also became involved with the labour movement and was elected President of the mining section of the Australian Workers Union in 1917, proving himself to be a forceful and competent leader. A lay Methodist preacher, Freemason and keen cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er and Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er, Richards was a popular and well known local identity and it came as no surprise when he sought Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
preselection.
Elected to the Electoral district of Wallaroo (which covered Moonta) in the South Australian House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
at the 1918 election
South Australian state election, 1918
State elections were held in Australia on 6 April 1918. All 46 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Union government led by Premier of South Australia Archibald Peake defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the...
, Richards quickly gained a reputation in parliament for his leadership and debating abilities and following Labor’s victory at the 1924 election
South Australian state election, 1924
State elections were held in Australia on 5 April 1924. All 46 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Federation government led by Premier of South Australia Henry Barwell was defeated by the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the...
, Richards was named Chairman of Committees, firstly in the John Gunn
John Gunn (Australian politician)
John Gunn was the 29th Premier of South Australia.Gunn was born in Bendigo, Victoria, the second of nine children to a Scottish miner and his wife...
led government and, following Gunn's resignation, in Lionel Hill
Lionel Hill
Lionel Laughton Hill was the thirtieth Premier of South Australia.Born in Adelaide, South Australia but raised on a farm near Maitland, Hill left school aged 12 to work on the South Australian government railways, where he first became involved in the labour movement...
’s cabinet.
Ousted from government at the 1927 election
South Australian state election, 1927
State elections were held in Australia on 26 March 1927. All 46 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier of South Australia Lionel Hill was defeated by the opposition Liberal Federation led by Leader of the...
by the Richard Layton Butler
Richard Layton Butler
Sir Richard Layton Butler KCMG was the 31st Premier of South Australia, serving two disjunct terms in office: from 1927 to 1930, and again from 1933 to 1938....
led Liberal Federation
Liberal Federation
The Liberal Federation was a liberal conservative South Australian political party from 1922 to 1932. It stemmed from the Liberal Union's Henry Barwell. Richard Layton Butler was also premier during the party's time. It was a predecessor to the Liberal and Country League....
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
first enjoyed the boom of the 1920s and then suffered the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. The 1930 election
South Australian state election, 1930
State elections were held in Australia on 5 April 1930. All 46 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Federation government led by Premier of South Australia Richard L. Butler was defeated by the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Leader of...
was highlighted by Butler’s warning to voters that the Depression would worsen before it improved and Labor leader Hill’s promise of a master plan to solve the problems of the Depression. Labor was swept to power and Richards appointed to the positions of Commissioner of Crown Lands, Minister of Mines and Marine and Minister of Labour and Employment.
Unfortunately, Labor did not have a master strategy to combat the Depression, and was instead forced to institute wage cuts and sweeping retrenchments in the public service as part of implementing the frugal measures of the 1931 Premier's Plan enacted to fight the Depression. The Premier’s Plan saw widespread discontent in South Australia, particularly within traditional working-class Labor supporters, resulting in the ALP state executive expelling the Hill cabinet (including Richards) from the Labor Party later in 1931.
Due to the support of the opposition, the Hill Cabinet remained precariously in power until February 1933 when Hill happily resigned as Premier nine weeks before the 1933 election
South Australian state election, 1933
State elections were held in Australia on 8 April 1933. All 46 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier of South Australia Robert Richards was defeated by the opposition Liberal and Country League led by...
to move to London as Australian Agent-General. This abrupt departure left Richards a reluctant Premier, lacking public or party support.
Richards spent his nine weeks as Premier attempting to talk up the achievements of his cabinet but the effects of the Depression, a fragmented ALP (three Labor parties contested the election; the Parliamentary Labor Party, of which Richards was a member, the official ALP and Lang Labor
Lang Labor
Lang Labor was the name commonly used to describe three successive break-away sections of the Australian Labor Party, all led by the New South Wales Labor leader Jack Lang premier of NSW .-Initial opposition to Lang's leadership:...
), and a revitalised opposition in the guise of the Butler led Liberal and Country League
Liberal and Country League
The Liberal and Country League was a major political party in South Australia throughout its forty year existence. Thirty-four years were spent in government, in part due to the electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander, introduced after coming to power.Created on 9 June 1932 as the...
, a merging of the Liberal Federation and the Country Party, led to a heavy defeat for Labor.
Andrew Lacey
Andrew William Lacey was both a member of the Australian House of Representatives and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Australia....
) and, following another heavy defeat in 1938, where more independents were elected to parliament than ALP members, Richards was returned to the Labor leadership.
Richards remained opposition leader for 11 years, during which Labor increased its vote at three consecutive elections, but could not win government, because of the electoral gerrymander (known as the Playmander
Playmander
The Playmander was a form of electoral malapportionment in the Australian state of South Australia, in place from 1936 to 1968. It consisted of rural districts enjoying a 2-to-1 advantage in the state parliament, even though they contained less than half of the population, as well as a change from...
). By 1949, Richards had suffered the death of his wife and, with the realisation that under the current electoral system there was little chance of Labor returning to government, retired from politics to serve as the Commonwealth Government’s Administrator of Nauru
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
, taking his new bride with him.
He returned from Nauru to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in 1951; served as Director of Radio 5KA, then under Methodist control; and was appointed to the South Australian government Forestry Board in 1954. Playford, never afraid to make use of opponents’ skills for the greater good, also commissioned Richards to investigate issues relating to delinquent children, mining issues and housing.
Afflicted by diabetes, Richards nonetheless lived long enough to see a Labor government returned to South Australia (under the leadership of Premier Frank Walsh
Frank Walsh
Francis Henry "Frank" Walsh was the 34th Premier of South Australia, serving from 10 March 1965 to 1 June 1967.-Early life:One of eight children, Walsh was born into an Irish Catholic family in O'Halloran Hill, South Australia...
) in 1965. He died in Moonta two years later, and received a state funeral.