John Singleton Clemons (24 March 1862 – 10 November 1944) was an Australian lawyer and politician. He served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

from 1901 to 1914, representing the

Free Trade Party The Free Trade Party (FTP), officially known as the Free Trade and Liberal Association and also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states, was an Australian political party. It was formally organised in 1887 in New South Wales, in ...

until 1909 and then the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. He served as an honorary minister in the government of

Joseph Cook Sir Joseph Cook (7 December 1860 – 30 July 1947) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1913 to 1914. He held office as the leader of the Fusion L ...

from 1913 to 1914.

Early life

Clemons was born on 24 March 1862 in

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...

. He was the oldest of eight children born to Anne Alicia (née Tucker) and John Nicholas Clemons. His father was a schoolteacher from

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England, who had been recruited to the colony in 1855. Clemons began his education at the public school in Evandale before going on to

Launceston Church Grammar School Launceston Church Grammar School (informally Launceston Grammar or simply Grammar, commonly abbreviated to LCGS) is an Anglican co-educational private school in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia for Early Learning through to Grade 12. Although f ...

. In 1880, he was awarded a Tasmanian government scholarship to attend the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where he studied law. After being

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in England, he returned to Tasmania and practised law in Launceston; he also had "wide mining interests".

Politics

Clemons unsuccessfully stood for the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

seat of Launceston at the 1900 general election. The following year, at the inaugural federal election, he was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

with the endorsement of the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association. He subsequently joined the parliamentary

and was elected as its Senate whip. In 1904 Clemons supported the

Reid government The Reid government refers to the period of federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister George Reid. It lasted from 18 August 1904 - 5 July 1905. Reid was the sole Prime Minister of Australia to belong to the Free Trade Party ...

, although describing himself as independent "to a certain extent". In the Senate he opposed the high-tariff policies of the

Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party, also known as the Protectionist Liberal Party or Liberal Protectionist Party, was an Politics of Australia, Australian political party, formally organised from 1887 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. T ...

and

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP), also speaking frequently on Tasmanian issues. He was a fiscal conservative, opposing the

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta railway station, Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie railway station, Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. Built to standa ...

, the construction of

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, and increased defence spending. Clemons was re-elected in 1906 and joined the

following the Fusion of 1909. After his re-election in 1913 he was appointed as an honorary minister in the Cook government, in order to give Tasmania a presence in the ministry. Clemons was defeated at the 1914 election following a

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolutio ...

Personal life

In 1889 Clemons married Edith Savigny, the daughter of William Henry Savigny, headmaster of

, and sister of William "Beau" Savigny, with whom he practised law. The couple had three sons, all of whom served in World War I. They retired to England after his defeat, living in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

and only visiting Tasmania on a few occasions. He died at his son's home in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

on 10 November 1944, aged 82, having been predeceased by his wife a few days earlier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clemons, John Singleton Free Trade Party members of the Parliament of Australia Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Tasmania Members of the Australian Senate 1862 births 1944 deaths Australian barristers Alumni of the University of Oxford Politicians from Launceston, Tasmania Australian emigrants to England People educated at Launceston Church Grammar School