George Prendergast

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For the American oncologist and molecular biologist, see George C. Prendergast.

George Elmslie
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Footscray
In office
9 April 1927 – 28 August 1937
Preceded bySeat created
Succeeded byJack Mullens
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for North Melbourne
In office
1 November 1900 – 4 March 1927
Preceded byWilliam Watt
Succeeded bySeat abolished
In office
20 September 1894 – 14 October 1897
Preceded bySylvanus Reynolds
Succeeded byWilliam Watt
Personal details
Born
George Michael Prendergast

20 May 1854
Adelaide, South Australia
Died28 August 1937(1937-08-28) (aged 83)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
SpouseMary Eliza Larrad (m. 1876)
Children3
ProfessionPrinter
NicknameMick Prendergast

George Michael "Mick" Prendergast (20 May 1854 – 28 August 1937) was an Australian politician who served as the 28th

Melbourne Trades Hall
, of which he was President in 1893.

Career

Prendergast early in his parliamentary career.

Prendergast was one of the first

Bourke Street, Melbourne, after he refused to move when instructed to by a police officer—the case was dismissed by the court.[1] At the 1897 election, Prendergast was defeated by William Watt (another future Premier), but regained the seat in 1900, and held it until it was abolished in 1927. He then shifted to the electorate of Footscray
, which he represented until his death. In all he was an MP for 40 years, but was noted more for his fiery stump oratory than any real ability: the historian Kate White calls him "mediocre."

In 1904 Prendergast became the first leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party. He resigned this position through ill-health in 1913, allowing

George Elmslie to become the first Labor Premier, and was Chief Secretary in Elmslie's 14-day government. He returned to the Labor leadership in 1918. He was the President of the North Melbourne Football Club for some time. [citation needed
]

Victoria was Labor's weakest state throughout the 1920s, due to the gross over-representation of rural areas in the Legislative Assembly, and the strength of the

Nationalist Party in middle-class Melbourne seats. Labor's parliamentary representation was confined to the industrial areas of Melbourne and a few provincial towns. There was little talent in the Parliamentary Labor Party and few regarded Prendergast as likely ever to win a state election. [citation needed
]

In April 1924, however, the Country Party withdrew its support from the Nationalist government of

John Cain was an Assistant Minister. [citation needed
]

Prendergast's government was the first Labor government in Victoria able actually to govern (Elmslie's government had had no chance to do anything before being defeated). Immediate action was taken to provide shelter for unemployed Victorians, while the government set up royal commissions into the causes of a major police strike in 1923, the prices of bread and flour, and the soldier settlement scheme. Increased expenditure was made available for rural roads, while reductions were made on rail freights and fares. With the support of the Country Party, he was able to pass several bills assisting farmers, but the Country Party would not support anything which benefited Labor's urban working-class base. This was a frustrating situation for Labor ministers, and several urged Prendergast to call another election in the hope of improving their position, but Prendergast was too timid to run this risk. In November the Country Party patched up its differences with the Nationalists, and the two parties joined forces to defeat Prendergast in the Assembly. The Country Party leader, John Allan, succeeded him as Premier. [citation needed]

Last years

Prendergast resigned as Labor Leader in 1926 and was succeeded by Hogan. In Hogan's first minority government (1927–28) he was again Chief Secretary. He died in 1937, still an MP, aged 83. Prendergast's granddaughter Kathleen Prendergast was a paleontologist and physician who became the first woman appointed as a Regimental Medical Officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps.[2] In the army she was known affectionately as "Mick" Prendergast.[3]

Further reading

Political offices
Preceded by Premier of Victoria
1924 		Succeeded by

See also

Prendergast Ministry

References

  1. ^ "Mr. Prendergast in Court". Bendigo Advertiser. Vol. XLV, no. 13, 204. Victoria, Australia. 21 September 1897. p. 2. Retrieved 25 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "WOMAN GEOLOGIST". Age. 21 July 1937. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  3. S2CID 220231651
    .
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