PARKES, SIR HENRY Australian statesman, was born at Stoneleigh, in Warwickshire, on May 27, 1815. The son of parents in very humble circumstances, he received only a rudimentary education, and at an early age was obliged to earn his living as a common labourer. Failing to make his way in England, he emigrated to Australia in 1839, and after a time settled in Sydney as an ivory-turner. He took a prominent part in the movement against the transportation of convicts, and in 1849 started the Empire newspaper to inculcate his policy of attacking abuses while remaining loyal to the Crown. The paper appeared until 1858. One of the reforms for which Parkes fought most strenuously was the full introduction of responsible gov ernment. He was returned to the legislative council under the old constitution as member for Sydney, and on the establishment of a legislative assembly in 1856 was elected for East Sydney. He was elected for East Sydney again in 1859 at the first general election under the new electoral act, and sat till 1861, when he was sent to England to promote emigration.
He made a prolonged stay in England, and described his im pressions in a series of letters to the Sydney Morning Herald, some of which were reprinted in 1869 under the title of Australian Views of England. He returned to Australia in 1863, and became colonial secretary from 1866 to 1868. He passed the Public Schools Act of 1866, which for the first time instituted an efficient system of primary education in the colony. His great chance came in 1872, when the Martin ministry resigned on the question of the sum payable by Victoria in lieu of border duties. Parkes had for several years persistently advocated free imports as a remedy for the financial distress of the colony. He now became
prime minister and colonial secretary; and he threw the colony open to trade. He held office till 1875, and on the fall of the Robertson ministry again became premier and colonial secretary from March till Aug. 1877. At the end of this year he was made K.C.M.G. He formed a coalition with Sir John Robertson, and became premier and colonial secretary for the third time from Dec. 1878 to Jan. 1883. In 1887 he again took office as prime minister. His free trade policy was once more successful. Other important measures of his administration were the reform of the civil service, the prohibition of Chinese immigration, and the railways and public works acts. He fell from office in Jan. 1889, but in the following March became for the fifth time premier and colonial secretary. The remainder of his life was chiefly devoted to the question of Australian federation. The Federal Convention at Melbourne in 1890 was mainly his work; and he presided over the convention at Sydney in 1891, and was chiefly responsible for the draft constitution there carried. De feated in Oct. 1891 on his refusal to accept an eight hours' day for coal-miners, he remained in opposition for the rest of his career. He died at Sydney on April 27, 1896. Parkes may justly be called the Father of the Australian Commonwealth.
He published, in addition to the works already named and numerous volumes of verse, a collection of speeches on the Federal Government of Australia (189o) , and an autobiography, Fifty Years in the making of Australian History (1892). See also Life of Sir H. Parkes, C. E. Lyne (1897).