Joseph Lyons was Tasmania’s twenty-sixth Premier and later Australia’s tenth Prime Minister.

He was the first Prime Minister to be born in Tasmania, and the first to win three federal elections in a row. He was also the first Prime Minister to die in office.

He was seen as an affable family man with a common touch. He remains the only Tasmanian to have been the nation’s Prime Minister.

Early life

Joseph Lyons was born in Stanley on 15 September 1879, and received his early education at St. Joseph’s Convent School in Ulverstone.

Joseph Lyons

Lyons as an adult standing outside his birthplace and childhood home in Stanley, Tasmania

His father suffered a breakdown in 1887 after losing all the family’s money speculating on the outcome of the Melbourne Cup. He became unable to care for his wife and children, so Joseph, aged 9 at the time, left school and worked a number of jobs to help support the family.He returned to school at age 12, enrolling at Stanley State School. He was financially supported by two aunts.

He was an enthusiastic sportsman in his youth: he played cricket and football, cycled, and even ran in the Burnie Gift.

Teaching career

In 1895, Lyons started working as a pupil-teacher under the Madras System. This meant he could continue his own education while being paid to teach younger students.

He qualified as a full-time teacher in 1901 and taught at various country schools until 1907, when he moved to Hobart and attended the Teachers’ College for a year. He was then posted to Launceston, where he taught at the Glen Dhu and Wellington Square State Schools. He also acted as headmaster at Perth for a short period of time.

Lyons quickly became a critic of the education system, often complaining of poor working conditions. His criticisms and complaints most likely contributed to his frequent transfers.

Joseph Lyons enters politics

In 1909, Lyons was elected to the House of Assembly, which required him to give up his teaching career.

He concentrated on educational issues, including equal pay for female teachers. He also wanted the Legislative Council to be reformed, among other things.

In 1912, he was elected president of the Tasmanian branch of the Labor Party. He became the deputy leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party two years later.

Reforming the Education Department

Between 1914 and 1916, Joseph Lyons served as Treasurer, Minister for Education, and Minister for Railways in John Earle’s Labor government.

He was able to reform the Education Department by abolishing school fees and improving pay and conditions for teachers, though he failed to effect equal pay.

He also authorised the building of several schools, including the first high schools in Hobart and Launceston.

Marriage and children

Enid Lyons

On 28 April 1915, 35-year-old Joseph Lyons married 17-year-old Enid Burnell after a short courtship. They had twelve children together, one of whom died of pneumonia at the age of ten months.

Enid became Joseph’s closest political ally and adviser. She later became a minister in the Menzies government and had a significant political career in her own right.

You can read more about Enid Lyons’ remarkable life in our earlier article on Tasmanian Times.

World War I and Aftermath

Joseph Lyons abhorred violence, and so was revulsed by the carnage of World War I. He passionately supported the idea of a new social order being established through a peaceful revolution. He refused to participate in war-time recruiting, and campaigned strongly for a ‘No’ vote in the conscription referenda of 1916-17.

When the Labor Party split over conscription in 1916, Lyons replaced John Earle as Leader of the Opposition.

After the war ended, influenced by his prospects in a conservative electorate, Lyons became more cautious and pragmatic.

After the Labor Party was defeated in the Tasmania’s 1919 election, he stood for the Federal seat of Darwin but he was badly beaten.

Premiership

When Lee’s government was brought down by several Nationalists in October 1923, Joseph Lyons became the leader of a minority Labor government. He wisely decided to proceed with caution and impartiality.

He worked to reform Tasmania’s financial structure by cutting expenses, imposing new taxes, reducing loan expenditure, and presenting Tasmania’s accounts honestly. He did all this with the advice of several economists. The Opposition approved of his work, as did state businessmen.

Lyons’ government was re-instated after 1925 elections, thanks in part to his tactful skills. He initially pursued the establishment of new industries (including wood pulping and mining), called Opposition Leader Sir John McPhee his ‘colleague and mate’, and cultivated the press, among other things. But in 1928, he regressed to hard party politics. The small Left group of the Labor Party saw his socialisation objective as insincere and his consensual politics as a betrayal. The Nationalists also attacked him for rising unemployment and economic stagnation.

Labor won a slender majority of the vote in the 1928 elections, but the Nationalists won sixteen of the thirty seats. McPhee subsequently became Premier, and praised Lyons for his statesmanship.

Post-premiership

Joseph was undecided about his future after losing the premiership.

He considered standing for the Australian Senate, but ended up standing for the Federal seat of Wilmot at the request of Federal Labor Party leader James Scullin. He won seat at the October 1929 elections.

Apart from Treasurer Edward Theodore, Lyons was the only Federal minister with administrative experience.

Scullin appointed Lyons to a senior position in the cabinet, and also named him Postmaster-General. He was content with administering his department, and didn’t make any comments in parliament that were unrelated to his portfolio or Tasmania.

He insisted that all government debts be fully honoured, and stressed the importance of balanced budgets and strict loan repayments. He also opposed inflation, and believed that experimental finance policies were inappropriate for Australia’s economy.

Acting Treasurer

After Theodore stood down as Treasurer in August 1930, Joseph took over the treasury portfolio in an acting capacity.

Australia was suffering from the Great Depression at this time, and Scullin’s government was split over its response to it. Despite a lack of experience in federal fiscal administration, Lyons came up with a recovery plan, which he announced in October 1930. He proposed the unpegging of exchange rates, reduction of interest rates, stabilisation of internal prices through monetary control, and provision of Commonwealth Bank credit for industry. He also recommended that public spending and salaries be cut.

Forming the United Australia Party

Although his plan won him support among businesses, it was rejected by the Labor caucus in favour of Theodore’s more sweeping proposals for credit creation. Lyons was alienated by this, so he started to consider taking over the leadership of the conservative opposition. He eventually resigned from cabinet in January 1931, and left the Labor Party in March. He then crossed the floor to sit on the opposition benches.

Soon after, Luons and his supporters joined with Nationalist and Australian Parties to form the United Australia Party (UAP).

He was elected as the UAP’s leader, therefore becoming the Leader of the Opposition. John Lathan, the former leader of the Nationalist Party, was elected the Deputy Leader.

Victory!

The UAP won an absolute majority in the 1931 elections and Joseph Lyons formed a government.

He went on to win the next two elections convincingly, a feat unmatched by any other Prime Minister at the time.

He made extensive use of radio, film, and air travel while on the campaign trail. He frequently held press conferences as well, and also personally briefed journalists to gain favourable publicity.

Prime Ministership

Lyons’ seven-year prime ministership was one of relative stability, with Australia’s economy gradually improving from the Depression. He managed tensions and avoided political mishaps. He also used his skills and abilities to present decisions in the best light. Despite this, he maintained his opposition to conscription, and took few initiatives in foreign affairs.

He relied on experienced colleagues during the early years of his tenure, including Latham, Stanley Bruce, and Sir Walter Massy-Greene. He later depended on Sir Earle Page, as well as younger colleagues.

Despite various health problems and increasing exhaustion, Joseph managed to keep his government stable until his final months.

Final months and Passing

Lyons’ final months were miserable due to his government’s instability. In a letter he wrote to Enid in May 1938, he said:

“It is just dreadful to come back to what always awaits me [in Canberra] but I suppose one day it will come to an end.”

At the time he wrote this letter, he was making concrete plans to retire as soon as possible.

On 5 April 1939, Lyons suffered a heart attack. He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and eventually fell into a coma.

He passed away on the morning of 7 April. He was survived by his wife and children. His estate amounted to £344, a healthy sum at the time.

His body lay in state at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney until 10 April. A memorial service was held the following day, and then a procession bearing his coffin proceeded from the cathedral to Circular Quay, where it was loaded onto HMAS Vendetta and transported to his home town of Devonport. His funeral was held at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes on 13 April, and he was subsequently buried in the church grounds. He was re-interred in the new Mersey Vale Memorial Park thirty years later.

Lyons’ funeral procession in Sydney

Legacy

A portrait of Joseph Lyons by William McInnes hangs in Parliament House. There’s also a bust of him in the Prime Ministers Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.

His reform of Tasmania’s financial structure is admirable, as is the stability of government he brought to Australian society.

The electorate of Lyons, one of 5 Tasmanian electorates for federal House of Representatives and state House of Assembly elections, is named jointly after Joseph and Enid Lyons.

Like most long-deceased Australian Prime Ministers, he has a suburb of Canberra named after him. Lyons is located in the Woden district south of Lake Burley-Griffin. As a nod to his homeland, many streets in the suburb are named after places in Tasmania.

Appearance

Joseph Lyons was plump, of medium stature, and upright in bearing. His voice was slightly high pitched. He had blue eyes; a thin, longish nose; a high forehead; and an unruly mop of blond hair. He walked with a limp in his later years as the result of a car accident.

Personality, image, reputation, habits

Despite his apparent simplicity and the conventional stereotype of ‘Honest Joe’, Joseph had an enigmatic and elusive personality.

Dame Mary Gilmore described him as “deeper and wider than party”.

His conservatism was described by Charles Hawker as that “of the man with small savings, a home of [his] own.”

In later life, Joseph played occasional games of golf and billiards. He also visited the cinema with his driver.

He attended Mass every Sunday while Prime Minister.

He was a moderate drinker, usually of Scotch.

Political ideology

Joseph described himself as a socialist between 1909 and 1922, establishing a reputation as an agitator. His socialism was thoroughly reformist and ethical, however, and despite his rhetoric he lacked a distinctive political ideology.

His would develop into a consensual politician, describing himself in 1922 as a friend of all members of the Legislative Assembly.

He argued in 1923 that the Australian Labor Party, which he explained was not sectional, was the only political party capable of developing comprehensive state policies. These attitudes made him more acceptable to many Nationalist politicians.

Photo gallery

JOHN HAWKINS: Joe Lyons and Benito Mussolini.