Richard Butler South Australia's premier in 1905 during fluid era in liberal/conservative political alignments
Richard Butler ended his political career as speaker of the House of Assembly.
Image courtesy State Library of South Australia
Richard Butler, South Australia's premier in 1905, represented a drift towards conservativism in a time of fluid political alignments. His mixed beliefs included opposing progressive land tax, intercolonial free trade and introducing coloured labour but favouring female suffrage, free education, payment of MPs and setting up a state bank.
English-born Butler, educated at the Collegiate School of St Peter, was from a farming and community background in South Australia's mid north. He represented Yatala and Barossa seats in the Butler backed John Downer’s conservative ministry of 1892-93 against Charles Cameron Kingston’s attacks but he united with liberals in the new Kingston ministry. In 1898, he took over John Cockburn's portfolios of agriculture and education until the defeat of the Kingston government next year over Legislative Council reform. Butler supported liberal constitutional and industrial laws introduced by Kingston.
In 1901, Butler became treasurer in John Jenkins’ cabinet that claimed descent from Kingston’s of 1893-99 but became increasingly conservative.
From 1901-04, the problems raised by federation were magnified by drought and depression. Although nicknamed “Dismal Dick”, Butler earned a high repute for financial ability by pursuing balancing budgets through retrenchment. He was hostile to Labor’s policy of expanding state intervention and became alienated from the more liberal of Kingston’s old supporters who formed a separate party under Archibald Peake in 1904.
Butler became the leader of an informal group of country MPs supported by the Farmers and Producers' Political Union.
With non-Labor politics further fragmented by an electoral alliance between Peake's Liberals and Labor, Butler became premier in 1905 but his government was soon defeated. In 1909, after premier Tom Price’s death, Butler supported a new ministry led by Peake and an anti-Labor fusion was negotiated, with Butler as treasurer and minister for the Northern Territory. But the fusion was defeated by the Labor Party in the 1910 election
In 1912, Butler again took office under Peake as minister of mines, minister of marine, commissioner of public works and later commissioner of crown lands. The ministry was defeated at the 1915 election.
In 1917, after the Labor Party split, Peake again formed a government with Butler as treasurer; he was also minister of railways until 1919 and of agriculture for five months. His sound frugal administration was backed by notable initiatives in building Outer Harbor, once named “Butler's Folly”, and the locking of the River Murray.
In 1919, Butler's political career suffered a big blow over irregularities in the bulk-wheat-handling scheme he had administered as agriculture minister. He was elected speaker in 1921 but was badly defeated in the 1924 election.
