Henry Barwell an arch conservative South Australian premier 1920-24; fond of trains; devised boys' work plan
South Australian premier Henry Barwell devised the successful "Barwell Boys" scheme.
Image courtesy State Library of South Australia
Prominent Adelaide establishment figure Henry Newman Barwell became South Australian premier in 1920 to 1924 after liberal Archibald Peake’s sudden death.
Barwell was educated at St Peter's College and Adelaide University, graduating in law. Admitted to the bar in 1899, Barwell built a successful legal practice specialising in defending murder suspects.
He entered the House of Assembly in 1915 as Liberal Union member for Stanley and an uncompromising conservative. He defended the restricted franchise of the Legislative Council, arguing Labor party shouldn’t be allowed to gain control “over the capital that employs labor, and over the superior intellect that governs that labor”.
In 1917, Barwell was attorney general and industry minister in Peake’s cabinet and dealt with deteriorating relations between the urban and rural sections of the Liberal Union. This worsened when the Country Party was created in 1919.
Despite voter antipathy against Barwell over his abrasive and sometimes tactless style, the Liberal Union was returned to office in 1921 with Barwell as the premier.
Barwell publicly advocated importing coloured labour into tropical Australia, contrary to the White Australia Party that was a central plant of policy for Labor members who began referring to him as “Black Barwell”.
Barwell authorised significant spending on laying rail tracks, buying trains (“Barwell Bulls”) and constructing the grand Adelaide railway station.
In 1922, Barwell announced the South Australian Farm Apprenticeship Scheme to take 6,000 young men and boys from Britain to cover the losses of World War I . Eventually the “Barwell Boys”numbered only 1700 but the scheme was considered a great success. Returning from London where he arranged the scheme, Barwell found his government increasingly unpopular due to his policies of small government and wage restraint.
Barwell lost the 1924 election to John Gunn’s Labor party. After briefly acting as opposition leader,he resigned from state parliament, seeking a seat in the Australian House of Representatives with a view to becoming prime minister.
