In the 1892 Victorian state election, Isaacs was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the member for a rural seat. His political programme was impressive: introduction of income taxation rather than indirect taxes which put the load on low income earners, reform of company law, conciliation machinery to resolution industrial disputes, railway reform and support for Federation.
He became a major participant in the framing of Australia's constitution at the Constitutional Convention of the late 1890s. So it was not a surprise that Isaacs was elected to the very first Federal Parliament in 1901, straight after the declaration of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Isaacs, 1906
Wiki
Australia's second prime minister, Alfred Deakin, made Isaacs Attorney-General in 1905, even though Isaacs was a difficult colleague. But Isaacs did give strong support to his prime minister for the Judicary Act that established the High Court of Australia... and needed to be thanked. Deakin was keen to get him out of politics anyway, so he pushed him upstairs; Isaacs was appointed to the High Court bench.
Isaacs was made Attorney-General of Australia in 1905, under Alfred Deakin, but the following year he left politics in order to become a justice of the High Court. Isaacs was often in the minority in his early years on the court, particularly with regard to federalism, where he advocated the supremacy of the Commonwealth Government. The balance of the court eventually shifted, The balance of the court eventually shifted, and he famously authored the majority opinion in the Engineers Case of 1920, which abolished the reserved powers doctrine and fully established the supreme role of Commonwealth law.
He was knighted in 1928. In 1930, Prime Minister James Scullin appointed a rather elderly Isaacs as Chief Justice. Later that same year, Scullin radically nominated Isaacs as his preferred choice for Governor-General. The selection of an Australian (rather than the usual British aristocrat) was unprecedented and highly controversial. King George V apparently opposed the idea, believing that only a British aristocrat could represent the crown. But eventually consented, and Isaacs took office in Jan 1931 as the first Australian-born holder of the office.
They had decided to appoint a suitable Australian citizen into the vice-regal position of Governor-General. A politician could come from any background, but since the GG personally represented the monarch in Australia, every Governor-General in past history had to have been British!
Scullin offered the post to Isaacs. Isaacs reflected or promoted the developing nationalism and centralism in Australia; he influenced the balance of power towards the Commonwealth and away from the individual states. It was a wonderful time to be an Australian, but Conservatives were not well pleased with the appointment.
The new Governor-General and his family left Melbourne and moved to the national capital, Canberra.
Lord Stonehaven was the first G.G to live in Government House Canberra aka Yarralumla, but in January 1931 Sir Isaac Isaacs achieved 3 important honours. Firstly he became the first Australian-born GG. Secondly he was the first governor-general to live at Government House in Canberra for his entire 5-year term (1931-6). Thirdly he was the first Jewish vice-regal representative in the whole British Empire, an empire that covered a third of the globe.
Isaacs was 81 when his term ended in 1936, but his public life hadn’t ended. He remained active in various causes for another decade and wrote frequently on matters of constitutional law. In the 1940s he became mixed in controversy with the Australian Jewish community and abroad through his opposition to what he called “political Judaism” i.e Zionism. He thought Judaism was a “religious identity”.
Sir Isaac Isaacs died in 1948 and was buried in the Jewish Melbourne General Cemetery.
Scullin offered the post to Isaacs. Isaacs reflected or promoted the developing nationalism and centralism in Australia; he influenced the balance of power towards the Commonwealth and away from the individual states. It was a wonderful time to be an Australian, but Conservatives were not well pleased with the appointment.
Isaac Isaacs receiving VIPs, 1933
National Museum of Australia
GG and Mrs Isaacs, 1934
National Library of Australia
Isaacs was 81 when his term ended in 1936, but his public life hadn’t ended. He remained active in various causes for another decade and wrote frequently on matters of constitutional law. In the 1940s he became mixed in controversy with the Australian Jewish community and abroad through his opposition to what he called “political Judaism” i.e Zionism. He thought Judaism was a “religious identity”.
Sir Isaac Isaacs died in 1948 and was buried in the Jewish Melbourne General Cemetery.
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16 comments:
An interesting history lesson. I didn't realise we had an Australian born Governor General so long ago, I thought it was only in recent times.
Coincidentally, I did a post about NSW Govt House but with less knowledgable information.
diane
the sad truth is that history education in our schools and universities might be have been top class, but there was a huge gap in Australian history. I could speak for hours about British, French, German, Dutch, Italian history etc etc, but not about my own. How embarrassing.
Hello Hels:
We are always endlessly fascinated to read about the lives of others and particularly enjoy a glimpse into the more domestic side of people who have lived their lives mainly in the public eye. For that reason, this post which shows and describes these wonderful Edwardian houses has a special appeal.
He was Jewish wasn't he? It puzzles me as to how he came to such exalted positions when Jews were blatantly discriminated surely into the sixties? Not acceptable as a member at the Melbourne Club?
I have learnt about him post school. He certainly wasn't hanging around Mesopotamia.
Jane and Lance
I love poking around the private homes of famous people, even small rural huts of 19th century writers who only later became famous.
The Edwardian home in Melbourne was lovely although it has been a bit neglected in the last 100 years. It was big enough for a growing family and modern in that special Edwardian taste, but not over the top. Isaacs seemed a modest man, very close to his elderly mum who must have stayed in the Hawthorn house often.
Andrew
when I read your comment, I went back into my post and added this tidbit:
Firstly he became the first Australian-born Governor General. Secondly .... Thirdly he was the first Jewish vice-regal representative in the whole British Empire, an empire that covered a third of the globe.
Not bad for the son of a Polish tailor!
By the way it is said King George V was very reluctant to have a governor-general who was not British, not from an aristocratic family and not a Christian. But clearly the king eventually approved Isaac's appointment.
Helen --
Apparently, King George V was more than reluctant to appoint a Jewish GG. He initially balked, and asked the Australian Prime Minister to give him the names of three potential candidates rather than the usual one. Scullin, cleverly, responded with three Jewish names, among whom was General Sir John Monash, created a field-marshall on the battlefields of WW I. George V had no choice but to appoint Isaacs.
peter
Thank you. That is such a lovely story, I would be delighted if it were true. The idea of a Labour Prime Minister saying to the British king that "this is our choice; shove it up your jumper" appeals to be enormously.
The right to advise the monarch on who the nation wanted, and to be sure that the advice would be accepted, was soon taken up by all the other Prime Ministers in the British Empire.
Think of the timing. The Statute of Westminster 1931 and the formal separation of the crowns of the Dominions came IMMEDIATELY after the Isaac Isaacs kerfuffle.
Nice blog. You might like to see my post about the Picasso exhibition in Sydney. It finishes on the 25th March. http://caroleschatter.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/picasso-exhibition-art-gallery-of-new.html
Carole
shame it finishes so early. I will ring the AGNSW and see if they have a catalogue for sale.
Many thanks.
Helen --
You may be interested that there were several Jewish political leaders in the colonial period: Vaiben Solomon was Premier of South Australia (1899), and Julius Vogel was Prime Minister of New Zealand (1873-1875). Later, Francis Bell (1925) and John Key (2008-) have been two New Zealand PMs of Jewish descent.
Roy Welensky, who was PM of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1956-1963), was also of Jewish (and Afrikaaner) descent.
Another very interesting person was George Waterhouse, premier of South Australia (1861-1863) and Prime Minister of New Zealand (1872-1873). What an interesting career!
peter
that is such an interesting observation, thank you. And it reminds me that I should have been more explicit about the difference between an elected politician and a vice regal head of state.
Politician were elected by their electorate because they were energetic, ideologically sound, learned, well connected etc. Thus they were going to come from all sorts of backgrounds.
Your example, Vaiben Solomon, was such a politician. Plus he was a member of Australia's 1897Federation Convention and the group that framed the Australian Constitution!
But a vice regal appointment was very different. In 1930, during the reign of King George V, Sir Isaac Isaacs was appointed as the first Australian-born, non-aristocratic and non-Christian Governor-General! His appointment triggered large scale opposition.
King George V himself was opposed to the appointment of a local man instead of an appointee from Britain, who could better unite the Empire. King George said that an Australian appointee could not be politically impartial and would jeopardise the ties of Empire. He
felt that the Government had weakened every tie that bound Australia to the Mother Country and that held the Empire together.
A truly great Australian! Wonderful tribute, Hels.
Nicholas,
thanks. I wrote this post because the prime minister James Scullin was pretty impressive when he decided to appoint an Australian citizen into the vice-regal position of Governor-General.
And because Scullin made a great choice in appointing Sir Isaac Isaacs. Isaacs influenced the balance of power towards the Commonwealth and promoted a more vigorous notion of modern nationalism. [Plus I am very partial to scholars and linguists, rather than yobs].
It's so interesting to read this information.
Have been meaning to look up information on Sir Isaac Isaacs for so long but finally decided to google information now cos my kids asked me too.
They want to learn a little about our background.
Have always been told that Sir Isaac Isaacs is my great great relative my whole life.
I have always found this interesting but looking up info is so much easier these days.
Me
I really hope you turn out to be a direct descendant of Sir Isaac Isaacs. My ancestors were interesting enough, but certainly not famous.
I have passed his Hawthorn home many times but I couldn't get in to photograph inside. Are any photos of the interior available, do you know?
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