Sir George Turner (8 August 1851 – 13 August 1916) was an Australian politician. He served two terms as Premier of Victoria, holding office from 1894 to 1899 and 1900 to 1901 as a liberal. After Federation he was invited by Edmund Barton to join the inaugural federal ministry, becoming the first Treasurer of Australia. He held office until 1904 under Barton and Alfred Deakin, then a few months later resumed office under George Reid. The government fell in 1905 and Turner retired from politics at the 1906 election.

Early life

Turner was born in Melbourne on 8 August 1851; he was the first native-born premier of Victoria. He was the son of Ruth (née Dick) and Alfred Turner, who were born in England. His father worked as a cabinet-maker.

Turner was educated at the National Model School on Spring Street. He received a sound education and began work as a clerk in a law office, matriculating in 1872 and being admitted to practise as a solicitor in 1881. He was a founding member of the Australian Natives' Association, an influential lobby group of Australian-born political liberals who campaigned for Australian federation and other causes. He was a member of the town council in St Kilda and was mayor in 1887–1888.

Colonial politics

A liberal, Turner was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly for St Kilda in 1889. He was Minister of Health and later Solicitor-General in the liberal government of William Shiels from 1891 to 1893. When Shiels was defeated by the conservatives under James Patterson in 1893, he went into opposition, and succeeded Shiels as leader of the liberal party – mainly because Alfred Deakin, the colony's leading liberal, refused the position.

Recognition

  • A sign on the median strip of Brighton Road (Nepean Highway), close to the western border of the Melbourne suburb of Balaclava (Coordinates: 37.870468S 144.988468E), denotes the location as the "Sir G. Turner Reserve".
  • A suburb in Australia's capital city, Canberra is named after George Turner.

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
  • Ross McMullin, The Light on the Hill: The Australian Labor Party 1891–1991