Charles Sladen
Charles Sladen | |
---|---|
6th Premier of Victoria | |
In office 6 May 1868 – 11 July 1868 | |
Preceded by | James McCulloch |
Succeeded by | James McCulloch |
Personal details | |
Born | 28 August 1816 Ripple Court, Victoria |
Nationality | Australian |
Spouse | Harriet Amelia Orton |
Sir Charles Sladen,
Sladen was born in
On 28 November 1855 Sladen was nominated to the Victorian Legislative Council,[1] and was appointed acting Treasurer.[4] When Victoria gained responsible government in 1856, Sladen was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as Member for Geelong,[1] and became Treasurer in the ministry of William Haines, a position he held until March 1857. He advocated the creation of a public bank and increased immigration. Sladen did not contest the 1859 election[5] and contested but lost the 1861 election for Geelong East.[1]
A firm conservative, Sladen re-entered politics in November 1864 when he was elected to the
Sladen found himself in a hopeless situation, since he was a member of the upper house at a time when it was increasingly accepted that the leader of the government must come from the Assembly – he is the only member of the Council ever to serve as Premier. Since he had little support in the Assembly, his government had no prospect of long-term survival. Following the resolution of the Darling grant crisis, he stepped down in July, and in September he retired from the council.
In September 1876 Sladen was again elected to the Council for Western Province,[1] and became the de facto leader of the Council in its conflicts with the Assembly. Despite being very conservative, Sladen recommended that the franchise for the Council be extended, and that the property qualifications for membership be reduced. These reforms were enacted in 1881. Sladen retired in 1882 due to poor health and died in 1884 in Geelong.
Sladen was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1875. A portrait of him hangs in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Sir Charles Sladen". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ "Sladen, Charles (SLDN834C)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "Charles Sladen". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ Sweetman, Edward (1920). Constitutional Development of Victoria, 1851–6. Whitcombe & Tombs Limited. p. 181. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- Geoff Browne, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900–84, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985
- Don Garden, Victoria: A History, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1984
- Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856–1900, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972
- Raymond Wright, A People's Counsel. A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856–1990, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992
- "Sir Charles Sladen". Dictionary of Australian Biography (1949 edition, public domain). Retrieved 6 May 2005.
- "Charles Sladen". Pakistan Cricket Board website. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2005.