Australian politician, fifth Prime Minister of Australia (1862-1928) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 – 22 October 1928) was the fifth Prime Minister of Australia. He was Prime Minister three times. His government helped create the Royal Australian Navy and make Australia's own paper money. When he retired he moved to London.
Rt Hon Andrew Fisher | |
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| 5th Prime Minister of Australia | |
| In office 13 November 1908 – 2 June 1909 29 April 1910 – 24 June 1913 17 September 1914 – 27 October 1915 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred Deakin Joseph Cook |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Deakin Joseph Cook Billy Hughes |
| Constituency | Wide Bay (Queensland) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 August 1862 Crosshouse, Scotland |
| Died | 22 October 1928 (aged 66) |
| Political party | Labor |
Fisher was born in Crosshouse, Scotland, where he was educated at the Crosshouse Primary School. At the age of 10 he left school to work in the coal mines. In 1885, he moved to Australia where he worked in the coal mines at Burrum and Gympie. He was elected to the Queensland Parliament in 1892.[1] In 1901 he married Margaret Irvine. Fisher was elected in 1901 to the seat of Wide Bay in the first Australian parliament.
When Fisher was Prime Minister a number of important projects were undertaken. The Commonwealth Bank was set up, the Northern Territory of South Australia was transferred to the Commonwealth, the federal capital of Canberra was founded, and the construction of the trans-Australian railway line linking Perth to the other capital cities was begun. As well as introducing maternity allowances, Fisher acknowledged the need for greater political equality for women.
Andrew Fisher is one of Australia's most successful prime ministers because of the changes he made. He was the first prime minister to have a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. He was able to have more than 110 Acts passed into law.[1]
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