Sir Thomas Rainsford Bavin, (5 May 1874 – 31 August 1941) was an Australian lawyer and politician who served as

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...

from 1927 to 1930. He was born in New Zealand and arrived in Australia at the age of 15, where he studied law and became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. He served as personal secretary to Australia's first two prime ministers,

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician, barrister and jurist who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903. He held office as the leader of the Protectionist Party, before ...

and

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of th ...

. Bavin was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

in 1917. He served two terms as Attorney General of New South Wales (1921, 1922–1925) before leading the Nationalist Party to victory at the 1927 state election, in a coalition with the Country Party. His predecessor Jack Lang and the

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) defeated his government after a single term at the 1930 state election.

Early years

Born in

Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimak ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

to a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister and his wife, Bavin was educated at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

until 1889 when his family moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and Bavin enrolled at

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

(1889–1890). His

sibling A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised ...

s were: Edna (Mrs Charles Lack); Jessie (Mrs Ambrose Fletcher); Gertrude (Mrs William Parker); Major Cyril Bavin OBE; Horace Bavin; Florence Bavin (Mrs Ernest Warren); Lancelot Bavin; and Dora Bavin (Mrs Leslie Allen). At the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

he came into conflict with his parents by renouncing Methodism (he later converted to

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

), and graduated with a BA in 1894 and LL.B. in 1897, winning the University Medal in the process.

Legal career and early political involvement

Called to the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Bar in 1897, Bavin became involved in the cause of Australian Federation, unsuccessfully standing for the Legislative Assembly seat of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

on a pro-Federation platform in 1898. After lecturing in law at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

in 1900 where he was acting professor of law, Bavin returned to Sydney to marry Edyth Winchcombe, the daughter of Frederick Winchcombe, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

, on 6 February 1901. Bavin first met

during their shared involvement in the federation movement. In 1901, after a chance encounter at an

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

railway station, Barton appointed him as his private secretary in place of

Atlee Hunt Atlee Arthur Hunt (7 November 186419 September 1935) was a senior official in the Australian Public Service. He was appointed Departmental secretary, Secretary of the Department of External Affairs (1901–1916), Department of External Affairs ...

, who had received a promotion. Bavin found Barton easily distracted and unable or willing to deal with routine administrative matters, later recalling that "having done his greatest work Barton was no longer very interested in the result". When Barton resigned to become a judge on the High Court, Bavin became his associate but also continued on as private secretary to Barton's successor

. Bavin returned to the Bar in 1904 but found briefs scarce and so began writing op-ed pieces for Sydney newspapers, and, along with Deakin, serve as the Australian correspondent for the London ''

Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning ...

'' from 1907 to 1911. In 1913, he inquired into food supplies and prices and went to sea on the trawlers to investigate pricing of fish in detail. He recommended an anti-monopoly bureau that could investigate prices and recommend prosecutions. Bavin was elected as an alderman to Willoughby Municipal Council in 1910. When

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out he became a naval intelligence officer.

State politics

Bavin's attempts to enter federal parliament were thwarted, thrice losing

Commonwealth Liberal Party The Liberal Party was a parliamentary party in Australian federal politics between 1909 and 1917. The party was founded under Alfred Deakin's leadership as a merger of the Protectionist Party and Anti-Socialist Party, an event known as the Fu ...

pre-selection, due partly to his support for greater social welfare expenditure. He gained pre-selection for the Legislative Assembly seat of

in 1916 but the election was deferred until 1917, when he was elected as the Nationalist Party member for

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

, a seat which he held until 1935, except during the period of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

(1920–1927) when he was a member for

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...

. Following his election, Bavin rapidly rose through the parliamentary ranks, becoming deputy leader of the Nationalists in October 1920 and serving as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice in 1921 and

Attorney-General of New South Wales The attorney general of New South Wales, in formal contexts also attorney-general or attorney general for New South Wales See, e.g. Attorney General for New South Wales v Burns & Ors', ''Leahy v Attorney-General for New South Wales'' and ''Makin ...

from 1922 to 1925. After the Nationalist loss at the 1925 election, Bavin was elected party leader, and therefore Leader of the Opposition.

Premier of New South Wales

Following an agreement by the Nationalist and

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

parties not to stand candidates against each other, the coalition won the 1927 election and Bavin became Premier and Treasurer on 18 October 1927. During his term as Premier, Bavin introduced the ''Income Tax (Management) Act'' (1928), under which the incomes of husband and wife were combined, and a progressive tax system was introduced, angering many of his conservative supporters. In reaction to Labor Party calls to abolish the Legislative Council, Bavin pushed through legislation requiring a referendum to do so. Bavin was plagued by ill-health throughout his Premiership, meaning that he was absent him from Cabinet during crucial times, especially in the wake of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

after 1929. Faced with a growing number of strikes, Bavin turned to non-unionised labour, which led to violent confrontations between striking workers and police, notably the Rothbury riot in December 1929.

Later life

Following the Nationalists' loss in the 1930 election, Bavin continued to lead the party until 1932, when he joined the newly created

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

. Appointed KCMG in 1933, Bavin retired from politics in 1935 to serve as a Justice of the

New South Wales Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...

. Bavin also returned to writing, authoring a number of books, including ''Thomas Rainsford Bavin: Extracts from his Speeches from 1923 until 1932'' (1933), and ''Sir

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive Premier of New South Wales, premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in ...

: His Life and Work'' (1941). Bavin died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in the Sydney suburb of Bellevue Hill, survived by his wife, son and three daughters. His well-attended funeral was held at St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney on 2 September 1941. He was later cremated at

Northern Suburbs Crematorium The Northern Suburbs Crematorium, officially Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, is a crematorium in North Ryde, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It was officially opened on 28 October 1933, and the first cremation t ...

Honours

Bavin was appointed KCMG in 1933.

Namesakes

In 2021 Bavin house at

was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bavin, Thomas Rainsford 1874 births 1941 deaths Converts to Anglicanism from Methodism Premiers of New South Wales Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of Tasmania Staff of Newington College People educated at Newington College Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Deaths from cancer in New South Wales People educated at Auckland Grammar School Leaders of the opposition in New South Wales Treasurers of New South Wales People from Kaiapoi New Zealand emigrants to Australia United Australia Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Attorneys-general of New South Wales Burials at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens Ministers for justice (New South Wales)