Richard Witty Foster (20 August 1856 – 5 January 1932) was an Australian politician. He began his career in the

Parliament of South Australia The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat South Australian House of Assembly, House of Assembly (lower house) and the 22-seat South Australian Legislati ...

(1893–1906) and served two terms as

Commissioner of Public Works The Walsh Act is a piece of legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits local government, municipalities to adopt a non-partisan City commission government, commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New ...

in liberal and conservative governments. He was elected to

federal parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch of Australia (represented by the governor ...

in 1909 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

, later joining the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

. He was Minister for Works and Railways (1921–1923) under Prime Minister

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...

, eventually losing his seat at the 1928 election.

Early life

Foster was born in

Goodmanham Goodmanham (historically Godmundingaham, the home of the people of Godmund) is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately to the north-east of Market Weight ...

Pocklington Pocklington () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, its population was 10,123. It lies east of York, and ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and educated at Prospect House,

Tockwith Tockwith is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, near the town of Wetherby and the city of York. There has been a village on the site since at least 1086 when ''Tocvi'' was mentioned in the ''Domesday Book''. To ...

and apprenticed to a draper. He emigrated to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

in 1880 and established a business as a grocer and general provider at

Quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 11 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as both a cooking ingredient and as ...

. He married Elizabeth Lees in September 1884. He was elected to the Corporate Town of Quorn council in 1887 and was mayor from 1890 to 1892.

South Australian politics

On 19 April 1893, Foster was elected to the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

as the member for

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, a seat he held until Newcastle was abolished on 2 May 1902. From 3 May 1902 until 2 November 1906, Foster represented

Flinders Flinders may refer to: Places Antarctica * Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula Australia New South Wales * Flinders County, New South Wales * Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour * Flinders, New South Wa ...

. He was Commissioner for Public Works from 8 December 1899 to 4 July 1904 and Minister for Industry from 1902 to 1904 in the liberal governments of

Frederick Holder Sir Frederick William Holder (12 May 185023 July 1909) was an Australian politician who served as the first speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 1901 to 1909. A member of the Free Trade Party and later an independent, he ser ...

and John Jenkins. He resigned from the ministry in 1904, but still supported Jenkins until it fell in 1905 and was then Commissioner for Public Works and Minister for Agriculture in the conservative administration of Richard Butler, but lost his seat in 1906.

Federal politics

Foster won the seat of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

at a 1909 by-election, standing for 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 ...

. In December 1921, he was appointed Minister for Works and Railways in the Hughes ministry, but was dropped from the ministry in February 1923 by

Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne (15 April 1883 – 25 August 1967) was an Australian politician, statesman and businessman who served as the eighth prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. He held office as ...

. He refused to join the South Australian Country Party and was beaten by its candidate, Maurice Collins in the

1928 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1928. Africa * 1928 Southern Rhodesian general election Asia * 1928 Japanese general election * 1928 Persian legislative election * 1928 Philippine House of Representatives elections * 1928 Philippine ...

. Foster died in the Adelaide

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of St Peters on 5 January 1932, survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

Notes

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Richard Witty Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Wakefield Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1856 births 1932 deaths Members of the Cabinet of Australia British emigrants to the Colony of South Australia Liberal Party (1922) members of the Parliament of Australia Australian grocers Mayors of places in South Australia People from Market Weighton Australian MPs 1910–1913 Australian MPs 1913–1914 Australian MPs 1914–1917 Australian MPs 1917–1919 Australian MPs 1919–1922 Australian MPs 1922–1925 Australian MPs 1925–1928