South Australia's first home-grown premier John Cox Bray 1881-84 legalises unions, hits at the Legislative Council

John Cox Bray, the first South Australian-born premier.
Image courtesy State Library of South Australia

John Cox Bray, as the first South Australian-born premier (1881-84), continued attempts to alter the constitution and power of the colony's Legislative Council.

The son of a bootmaker and early settler, Bray was educated in England and at the Collegiate School of St Peter, Adelaide. He was admitted in 1870 to the South Australian Bar and practised mainly as a solicitor.

He was elected in 1871 to the South Australian House of Assembly as a member for East Adelaide that he represented until 1892. In 1875, he became minister of justice and minister of education in premier Arthur Blyth’s government that resigned after 80 days after no-confidence vote, largely based on disapproval of Bray who’d previously opposed the government.

As attorney general in John Colton’s government 1876-77, Bray introduced the Act for trade unions to be formed and registered, a first for Australia.

Bray prominently opposed William Morgan’s government and, after that ministry resigned and unsuccessful attempts to form a government, in 1881 Bray became premier for two years and 358 days, the longest consecutive term for a South Australian premier so far. While premier, Bray was first chief secretary and later treasurer.

Bray’s Constitution Further Amendment Act 1881 provided for Legislative Council members to be elected in four districts instead of the whole province. The number of councillors was increased and their term shortened. An attempt to provide for deadlocks to be resolved by a two-thirds majority of the members of both houses failed in the council and was replaced by the governor, in a deadlock, being able to dissolve both houses or issue a writ for the election of not more than two new members for each Legislative Council district.

Other important measures passed in Bray's premiership were a Mining Companies Act with no-liability provisions, a Crown Lands Act granting concessions to selectors, a Married Women's Property Act and an act increasing members of the House of Assembly.

Before the election in 1883, a bill to impose land and income tax was defeated in the council. After the election, the Bray ministry was defeated on a no-confidence motion by John Colton in 1884. The main charges were that the government was too liberal with the Crown Lands Act and unnecessarily provoking the Legislative Council.

Bray was never premier again but was chief secretary (1885-86) and treasurer (1886-87) in the John Downer ministry. While Downer was in England, Bray acted as premier but resigned in 1887 after a successful vote of no confidence amendment to the address-in-reply. From 1888-90. he was speaker of the House of Assembly. He stepped down to become chief secretary in the second Tom Playford II cabinet in 1890-92.

In 1892, Bray was appointed agent-general for South Australia in London. His health broke down and he was forced to retire prematurely.