Edmund Barton

Edmund Barton was born in Sydney in 1849 and became a barrister and member of the New South Wales parliament, where he served as Speaker. A leading campaigner for federation, he helped draft the Commonwealth Constitution. He was appointed caretaker prime minister on 1 January 1901 and kept office after the first election through an alliance with Labor. He resigned in 1903 to become one of the three founding justices of the High Court, where he served until his death in 1920.

Barton is remembered as a founding father of the Commonwealth, credited with steering federation through conventions and referendums and with setting up the High Court, the defence forces and the public service. His government extended the federal vote to women in 1902. Critics point out that his government also laid the legal foundations of the White Australia policy, which restricted non-European immigration until it was dismantled from the 1960s, and passed the Pacific Island Labourers Act, which led to the deportation of about 7,500 Pacific Islanders. His own statements on racial inequality are now widely cited as examples of the racism built into the new nation. Contemporaries also mocked his relaxed manner and fondness for long dinners.