Thomas Playford II, South Australian premier 1887-89/90-92, starts tariff system; anti urban democracy

Thomas Playford II was a reforming commissioner of crown lands and immigration in the 1870s and 1880s.
Image courtesy State Library of South Australia. 

Thomas Playford II’s family came to South Australia in 1844 and his father, an independent minister, founded several “Christian” churches in Adelaide.

Educated at Thomas Muggs’ school at Mitcham, and forbidden to become a lawyer, Thomas Playford II farmed his father's property at Mitcham before developing a fruit orchard at Norton Summit. He was active in the local literary and debating society and became chairman of East Torrens District Council in 1862-83. He was also a founder of the East End Market Company.

In 1868, Playford was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly for Onkaparinga but was defeated in 1871 partly due to “stinkwort” remark directed at a German-born member – not tactful in an electorate including Lobethal and Hahndorf.

He returned to parliament in 1875 for East Torrens, which he represented until 1887. Playford was a reforming commissioner of crown lands and immigration in 1876, 1877–81 and 1885. He was also commissioner of public works in 1884–85. In 1882, he visited Italy, France, Britain, the United States of America and New Zealand.

Losing East Torrens at the 1887 election, Playford was returned next month for the far north electorate of Newcastle. As premier and treasurer 1887-89, his most notable achievement was South Australia's first systematic tariff, as strongly protective as Victoria’s, and mainly due his close friend and protégé, the radical attorney-general Charles Cameron Kington. They both attended the inter-colonial conference in June 1888, where Playford strongly supported restricting Chinese immigration. Playford also secured payment of members of parliament, at a salary of £200 a year.

Elected again in 1890 for East Torrens, Playford formed his second ministry and was again a successful treasurer with all budgets in surplus and state debt greatly reduced.

In 1893, Kingston gathered “liberal” groups and formed a ministry that kept office with Labor support until 1899, Playford was appointed treasurer in the new ministry but retired in 1894 to become agent general in London.

On returning home, Playford was elected to represent Gumeracha in 1899. In a debate on the electoral system, he “found the good-for-nothings, ne'er-do-wells, rogues, prostitutes and vagabonds (were) . . in the big centres of population, and if they were wise in their generation, they would not give them the same representation as perhaps the more wealthy, the more intelligent, and honourable people who lived in the country”.

In 1899, to stop Legislative Council powers being eroded, Playford crossed the floor to bring down the Kingston government. He declined to form a ministry and remained a backbencher until elected to the first federal senate in 1901.