Parliamentary activity
Information about members' parliamentary service including their positions held and biography.
Positions
| Position | Start | End | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case of William Reid Committee No.18 | Tue 28 August 1900 | Tue 20 November 1900 | 2 months 24 days | |
| Administration of the Military Department Committee No.14 | Thu 26 July 1900 | Thu 01 November 1900 | 3 months 7 days | |
| Broken Hill Abattoirs, Markets, and Cattle sale Yards Bill Committee No.2 | Tue 19 June 1900 | Wed 18 July 1900 | 1 month | |
| Case of James Cook and other employees of the Tramway Department Committee No. 23 | Wed 13 December 1899 | Wed 20 December 1899 | 8 days | |
| Mine at Brindebella, owned by the Bank of North Queensland Committee No. 21 | Tue 21 November 1899 | Thu 30 November 1899 | 10 days | |
| Action of Mr.Chisholm, Police Magistrate at Wollongong, in the case of Morgan v. Clift Committee No. 22 | Tue 21 November 1899 | Thu 30 November 1899 | 10 days | |
| Case of Sydney Cooper as to Mining under a Road, parish of Clive, county of Gough Committee No. 17 | Thu 27 October 1898 | Fri 23 December 1898 | 1 month 27 days | |
| Accidents in Mines Committee No. 13 | Tue 11 October 1898 | Fri 23 December 1898 | 2 months 13 days | |
| Secretary for Mines and Minister for Agriculture | Sat 27 August 1898 | Wed 13 September 1899 | 1 year 18 days | |
| Member for Hartley | Wed 27 July 1898 | Tue 11 June 1901 | 2 years 10 months 16 days | |
| Old Age Pension Committee No.9 | Tue 16 June 1896 | Wed 16 September 1896 | 3 months 1 day | |
| Member for Hartley | Wed 24 July 1895 | Fri 08 July 1898 | 2 years 11 months 15 days | |
| Member for Hartley | Tue 14 August 1894 | Fri 05 July 1895 | 10 months 22 days | |
| Postmaster General | Fri 03 August 1894 | Sat 27 August 1898 | 4 years 25 days | |
| Member for Hartley | Tue 17 July 1894 | Fri 03 August 1894 | 18 days | |
| Working of Collieries Committee No.11 | Tue 13 March 1894 | Thu 19 April 1894 | 1 month 7 days | |
| Whaling Road, North Sydney Committee No.29 | Mon 21 December 1891 | Thu 17 March 1892 | 2 months 26 days | |
| Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly | Fri 03 July 1891 | Tue 11 June 1901 | 9 years 11 months 9 days | |
| Member for Hartley | Fri 03 July 1891 | Mon 25 June 1894 | 2 years 11 months 23 days |
Biography
Political party activity
Australian Labor Party (ALP). Parliamentary leader, 1893; He was a republican and supporter of the Land Nationalisation League. He served on the Labor Defence Committee during the 1890 Maritime Strike. He was President of the Lithgow branch of the Labor Electoral League in 1891. Resigned in 1894. Independent and then Freetrade, 1894; Deputy leader federal Freetrade Party, 1905; leader 1908; Deputy-leader Fusion, then Liberal Party 1909-1913; leader, 1913-1917.
Nationalist Party, from 1917.
Honours Received
Privy Councillor in 1914. Created a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in 1918. Represented Australia in Versailles in 1919 and was High Commissioner for Australia in London from 1921 -1927.
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Member of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. Member of the House of Representatives for Parramatta 1901-1921. Prime Minister of Australia 1913-1914.
Personal information
Son of William Cooke (sic), a coal miner, and Margaret Fletcher. Converted to Primitive Methodist in his teens and was a lay preacher. Married Mary Turner on 8 August 1885 at Wostanton, England and had issue, 5 sons and 3 daughters. Methodist. His estate was valued for probate at £23,269.
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Miner. From the age of nine, he worked in the coal mines and became the family breadwinner in 1873, when his father died. By the age of 25, he held all the executive positions in the union lodge. Arrived in New South Wales in 1885 and worked in the Lithgow mines, where he became a check-weighman. He also learned shorthand and book-keeping. Assisted to manage the 'Lithgow Enterprise and Australian Land Nationaliser' and did some auditing work. He was Secretary and President of the Miners' Lodge.
Additional information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 8 Bede Nairn, 'Civilizing Capitalism: A History of the Labour Movement in New South Wales, 1870 - 1900', 1973 J. Rydon, 'A Biographical Register of the Commonwealth Parliament 1901-1972', 1975 G. Bebbington, 'Pit Boy to Prime Minister: the Story of the Rt Hon Sir Joseph Cook PC GCMG', 1988 Bede Nairn, 'Civilizing Capitalism: the beginnings of the Australian Labor Party', 1989 John Murdoch, 'Sir Joe: A political biography of Sir Joseph Cook', 1996 National Archives of Australia, 'Australia's Prime Ministers' Website http://primeministers. naa. gov. au/ National Archives of Australia fact Sheet 72: Joseph Cook Prime Minister of Australia 1913-14' http://www. naa. gov. au/fsheets/FS72. html