Mr (Chris) John Christian WATSON (1867 - 1941)**

Date of Birth: 09/04/1867 Place of Birth: Valparaiso, Chile Date of Death: 18/11/1941 Place of Death: Double Bay, New South Wales, Australia

Parliamentary Service

Position Start End Period Notes Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 17 Jul 1894 11 Jun 1901 6yr(s) 10mth(s) 26day(s) Member for Young 17 Jul 1894 5 Jul 1895 11mth(s) 19day(s) 16th Member for Young 24 Jul 1895 8 Jul 1898 2yr(s) 11mth(s) 15day(s) 17th Member for Young 27 Jul 1898 11 Jun 1901 2yr(s) 10mth(s) 16day(s) 18th Capertee Tramway Bill Committee No.10 26 Sep 1895 17 Oct 1895 22days 17th (1895 - 1898) Wellington Show Ground Hill Committee No.15 12 Nov 1895 3 Dec 1895 22days 17th (1895 - 1898) City and North Sydney Railway Bill Committee No.16 12 Dec 1895 19 Dec 1895 8days 17th (1895 - 1898) City Mutual Life Assurance Company’s (Limited) Enabling Bill Committee No.7 26 May 1896 16 Jun 1896 22days 17th (1895 - 1898) Sydney and North Sydney Bridge and Tramway Bill Committee No.10 25 Jun 1896 16 Jul 1896 22days 17th (1895 - 1898) Case of Staff Sergeant W.Jiffkins Committee No.11 30 Jun 1896 26 Aug 1896 1mth 28days 17th (1895 - 1898) City and North Sydney Tunnel Roadway Bill Committee No.14 1 Jul 1896 14 Jul 1896 14days 17th (1895 - 1898) Ryan’s Conditional Purchase in the Wagga Wagga Land District Committee No.21 4 Aug 1896 10 Sep 1896 1mth 7days 17th (1895 - 1898) Gore and Artarmon Estates, North Shore Committee No.22 11 Aug 1896 12 Nov 1896 3mths 2days 17th (1895 - 1898) Orange Showground Bill Committee No.23 13 Aug 1896 19 Aug 1896 7days 17th (1895 - 1898) Borough of Cudgegong Cattle Saleyards Bill Committee No.25 17 Sep 1896 24 Sep 1896 8days 17th (1895 - 1898) Collision between the “Sol” and “Alathea” steamers Committee No.26 22 Sep 1896 11 Sep 1896 17th (1895 - 1898) Claim of John Brennan against Roads Department Committee No.27 22 Sep 1896 16 Nov 1896 1mth 26days 17th (1895 - 1898) Lawson’s Estate Mortgage Enabling Bill Committee No.29 23 Sep 1896 30 Sep 1896 8days 17th (1895 - 1898) Pitt Town Settlement Committee No.30 6 Oct 1896 12 Nov 1896 1mth 7days 17th (1895 - 1898) Printing Committee No. 5 28 Apr 1897 9 Dec 1897 7mths 12days 17th (1895 - 1898) Printing Committee No. 5 28 Jun 1898 8 Jul 1898 11days 17th (1895 - 1898) Printing Committee No. 6 25 Aug 1898 23 Dec 1898 3mths 29days 18th (1898 - 1901) City and North Sydney Connection Bill Committee No. 11 20 Sep 1898 23 Dec 1898 3mths 4days 18th (1898 - 1901) Claim of John Brennan against Roads Department Committee No 14 11 Oct 1898 23 Dec 1898 2mths 13days 18th (1898 - 1901) Sydney and North Sydney Bridge and Tramway Bill Committee No. 16 26 Oct 1898 23 Dec 1898 1mth 28days 18th (1898 - 1901) Care of Rachel Dawson Committee No.20 22 Nov 1898 23 Dec 1898 1mth 2days 18th (1898 - 1901) Printing Committee No.4 21 Feb 1899 23 Feb 1899 3days 18th (1898 - 1901) Printing Committee No.5 13 Apr 1899 21 Apr 1899 9days 18th (1898 - 1901) Alfred Austin Sampson’s Settlement Lease, Gunnedah Committee No.16 7 Nov 1899 23 Dec 1899 1mth 17days 18th (1898 - 1901) Case of James Cook and other employees of the Tramway Department Committee No. 23 13 Dec 1899 20 Dec 1899 8days 18th (1898 - 1901) Alfred Austin Sampson’s Settlement Lease, Gunnedah Committee No. 9 3 Jul 1900 30 Aug 1900 1mth 28days 18th (1898 - 1901)

Political Party Activity

Australian Labor Party (ALP)

Qualifications, occupations and interests

Union official and compositor. Arrived in New Zealand in 1868 with parents who were attracted by the gold rushes. Educated at Oamaru state school and went to work at age 10 with railway contractor; apprenticed as a printer on a newspaper New South Wales provincial council. Australasian Labor Federation in 1894. Candidate for federal convention in 1897. After retirement from politics in 1910 became a director of a number of companies. President of the National Roads and Motorists Association, for many years. Associated with attempts to start Labor Daily newspaper in Sydney after 1910; managing director of Labor Papers Limited until 1916.

Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held

Member of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. Member of the House of Representatives for Bland 1901 - 1906; and for South Sydney 1906 - 1910. Prime Minister of Australia 1904. Treasurer 1904.

Personal

Son of George Thomas Watson, sailor. Married (1) Ada Jane Lowe in 1889. Married (2) Antonia Lane in 1925. Presbyterian.

Additional Information

Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 12 Al Grassby and Silvia Ordonez, 'The Man Time Forgot: The Life and Times of John Christian Watson, Australia's First Labor Prime Minister', 1999 Ross McMullin, 'So Monstrous a Travesty: Chris Watson and the world's first national labour government', 2004 National Archives of Australia, 'Australia's Prime Ministers' Website http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/ National Archives of Australia Fact Sheet 212: 'John Christian Watson Prime Minister of Australia April - August 1904' http://www.naa.gov.au/fsheets/fs212.html J. C. Watson Papers, Australian National Library: ANL Ms451 http://www.nla.gov.au/ms/findaids/0451.html

Last modified 12/12/2008 12:52:53   :   Update this page