Sir John Bowser (2 September 1856 – 10 June 1936),

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n politician, was the 26th Premier of Victoria. He was born in

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, the son of an army officer, and arrived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

as a child with his family. He grew up at Bacchus Marsh and when he left school got a job with the ''Bacchus Marsh Express''. As a young man he went to

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and worked on newspapers while studying at

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. Returning to Australia, he settled in

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census. The city is located at the confluence, junction of the Ovens River, ...

, where he farmed and managed the ''Wangaratta Chronicle'', which he eventually bought. In October 1894, Bowser was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

for Wangaratta and Rutherglen. Wangaratta and Rutherglen was renamed to

Electoral district of Wangaratta The Electoral district of Wangaratta was an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It was created in the redistribution of 1904, the Electoral district of Wangaratta and Rutherglen being abolished. The district of Wangaratt ...

in 1906, and was renamed again to Electoral district of Wangaratta and Ovens in 1927. Bowser held the seat until November 1929. In total Bowser represented Wangaratta, in its different names, for 35 years. He was Minister of Public Instruction in the Liberal government of Thomas Bent in 1908–1909, but thereafter did not hold office again until he became Premier. He emerged as one of the leaders of the conservative rural faction of the Liberal Party, known as the Economy Party, concerned with getting roads and railways to their districts, cutting government expenditure, and keeping country areas over-represented in the Assembly. In 1917, the Liberal Premier, Alexander Peacock, increased country rail fares, arguing that the Victorian Railways would otherwise become insolvent. In protest, Bowser led his faction into opposition, and at the election in November, Bowser's followers won 27 seats, to Labor's 18, the Peacock Liberals' 12 and the Victorian Farmers Union's four. Peacock resigned and Bowser became Premier. He rescinded Peacock's rail fares increases, but had no answer to the larger problem of railway finances. In May 1918, he was defeated in the Assembly when all the other parties voted against a railways estimates bill. Bowser, who had little taste for office, immediately resigned, and a Peacock Liberal, Harry Lawson, formed a composite ministry of the various Liberal factions, with Bowser as Chief Secretary and Minister for Public Health, posts he held until 1919. In 1921, he joined the newly formed Country Party. In 1924, he was elected Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, which was becoming a traditional honour for former Premiers. He was knighted in 1927 and retired from politics in 1929. In 1922, a railway station just north of Wangaratta was named after him.

References

*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 , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowser, John 1856 births 1936 deaths Premiers of Victoria Victoria (state) state politicians People from Bacchus Marsh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Ministers for health (Victoria) Vice-presidents of the Board of Land and Works Chief secretaries of Victoria Speakers of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian Knights Bachelor British emigrants to the Colony of Victoria Ministers for labour (Victoria) Ministers for education (Victoria)