JOHN MCEWEN

John McEwen was what used to be known as a 'black Scot'. He was a tall, strong man with hair and eyebrows black as a crow's wing: upright in every sense of the word, aggressive, ruthlessly determined to get his own way and inflexible in defence of Country Party policies. Everyone knew him as 'Black Jack'.

His background seems more characteristic of a Labor politician of his era than of a hardbitten leader of the Country Party. Born in humble circumstances in Chiltern, Victoria, in 1900, he was orphaned at seven and brought up by his widowed grandmother. Chiltern, once hopefully known as New Ballarat, was then reaching the end of 40 years as a gold town and was settling into placid obscurity as a centre for the farmlands in the rolling hills of north-east Victoria. McEwen received whatever education the local school could offer and at 13 began work as a messenger boy.

Chiltern offered little future to a poor youngster with ambition and so he went to Melbourne in search of work. At 15 he became a junior clerk in the Crown Solicitor's Office but, like many boys in that era, he was simply marking time until he could join the armed forces. At 18 he volunteered for the Army, with every prospect of being sent to fight on the Western Front.

The war ended before he could be shipped overseas, but Army service entitled him to put his name down for one of the Soldier Settlers' blocks which rewarded many ex-servicemen. The belief was that the ex-servicemen would make good livings and open up undeveloped country.

Inexperience and other problems defeated about half of the soldier settlers, but McEwen and his new wife cleared a block in the Goulburn Valley and toiled their way to prosperity as producers of milk, wool and fat lambs. He led local farmers in forming a co-operative dairy factory, became secretary of the Water Users' League and a member of the Victorian Farmers' Union, joined the Country Party and stood for State Parliament in 1932. He did not win the seat but did, at least, double the Country Party vote. In 1934, the retirement of a sitting Country Party member enabled McEwen to step into federal politics and begin 37 years in Parliament.

He soon made himself heard as a forthright speaker on both rural and national affairs. Joseph Lyons made him Minister for the Interior in 1937 and he held Cabinet rank until the collapse of the United Australia Party-Country Party coalition in 1941. When Menzies regained power in 1949, he gave McEwen the portfolio of Commerce and Industry - later retitled Trade.

McEwen was well aware that Menzies could not survive without the solid support of the Country Party, though Liberals were gradually moving into traditional Country Party strongholds. He made full use of this to win points for his party. His forceful personality made him the natural successor to Arthur Fadden as party leader and Deputy Prime Minister when Fadden retired in 1958. There were even those who saw McEwen as the right man to succeed Menzies as Prime Minister. But his single-minded pursuit of Country Party advantages, even at the expense of the whole coalition, annoyed many Liberals and made him enemies.

In the event, Harold Holt succeeded Menzies and McEwen proved himself a loyal lieutenant. Whenever Holt was absent overseas, he always appointed McEwen Acting Prime Minister.

When Holt disappeared on 17 December 1967, there was a two-day hiatus before the Liberal-Country Party coalition could accept the probability of his death. McEwen stepped into the breach as caretaker Prime Minister while the coalition elected a new man for the post. As a Country Party man, McEwen could have little hope for the top job. But as the principal power-broker of his party, he could exert remorseless pressure. Simmering enmities came to the boil when McEwen declared publicly that he would not serve under William MacMahon, who was the Liberal Party's first choice for Prime Minister.

This declaration could be seen as a threat to withdraw the Country Party from the coalition and thus bring down the government. The Liberals were virtually compelled to appoint their second choice, John Gorton. Whether McEwen did Gorton a favour by backing his appointment may be a matter for argument. In fact, McEwen withdrew his support from Gorton shortly before he retired from Parliament.

When Gorton took over as Prime Minister, McEwen returned to his post of Minister for Trade where he had already shown himself to be a tireless negotiator for the benefit of primary producers. In 1968 he secured an international sugar agreement which was applauded by Australian planters. The present worldwide network of Australian Trade Commissions also owes a great deal to McEwen initiatives. He retired from Parliament in 1971 and enjoyed nine peaceful years before his death in 1980.

Parties

Country Party

Electorate

Echuca

Indi

Murray

State

Victoria

Parliamentary Service


Unsuccessful in his first attempt to enter Parliament in 1932, standing against a Nationalist Party incumbent for the Victorian Legislative Assembly.
Obtained endorsement for the federal seat of Echuca and elected to the House of Representatives for Echuca, Victoria, in the general election of 1934.
Following redistribution of electorates he was elected for Indi in general elections 1937, 1940, 1943, 1946 and, fol-lowing another redistribution of elec-torates, elected for Murray, Victoria, in 1949, 1951, 1954 (unopposed), 1955, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1966 and 1969.
Resigned 5 February 1971.

Ministerial Appointments



Minister for the Interior, from 29 November 1937 to 26 April 1939.
Minister for External Affairs, from 14 March to 28 October 1940.
Minister for Air and Minister for Civil Aviation, from 28 October 1940 to 7 October 1941.
Member of War Cabinet, 1940-41 .
Minister for Commerce and Agriculture, from 19 December 1949 to 11 January 1956.
Minister for Trade, from 11 January 1956 to 1 February 1971 (designation altered on 1-7 December 1963 to Minister for Trade and Industry).
Deputy Prime Minister, from 26 March 1958 to 5 February 1971.
Prime Minister from 19 December 1967 to 10 January 1968.

Acting Ministries


Acting Prime Minister during absences overseas of the Rt. Hon. R.G. Menzies, 28 April to 8 July 1959, 1 to 13 December 1959, 15 April to 20 June 1960, 29 September to 19 October 1960, 22 February to 30 March 1961, 24 May to 23 June 1962, 13 June to 13 July 1963, 20 June to 18 July 1964, 2 January to 8 February 1965, and 4 June to 11 July 1965; and also during absences overseas of the Rt Hon. H.E. Holt, 21 April to 1 May 1966, 28 June to 16 July 1966, 29 August to 19 September 1966, 24 to 27 October 1966, 2 to 8 February 1967, 28 March 1967 to 10 April 1967, and 28 May to 22 June 1967.
Acting Treasurer during absence overseas of the Rt Hon. H.E. Holt, from 29 September to 13 October 1960 .
Acting Minister for External Affairs during the absence overseas of the Hon. Sir Garfield Barwick, from 28 May to 3 July 1962.
Acting Minister for Defence during the absence overseas of Senator the Hon. S.D. Paltridge, from 19 January to 27 February 1965.
Acting Minister for External Affairs during the absence overseas of Senator the Hon. P.M.C. Hasluck, from 12 June to 4 July 1965.

><Committee Service


Member of the Bankruptcy Legislation Committee, 1935-36.
Member of the Australian Advisory War Council, from 16 October 1941 to 31 August 1945.
Member of the Privileges Committee, from 7 March 1944 to 4 December 1947.
Member of Standing Orders Committee, from 14 March 1962 to 1 February 1971.

Conferences

Consultant on the Australian delegation to the United Nations Conference on International Organisation, San Francisco, April 1945.

Represented the Commonwealth Government at the meeting of the International Wool Study Group, London, October 1950.

Visits to the United Kingdom in connection with negotiations on food contracts, and represented Australia at the meeting of Commonwealth ministers on supply and production problems relating to raw materials, from August to November 1951.

Commonwealth Financial and Economic Conference, London, from November to December 1952.

Preliminary talks in London between Commonwealth representatives on pro-posals for review of GATT, and led, with Hon. N. O'Sullivan, the Australian delegation to the ordinary and special sessions of GATT at Geneva, from October to November 1954.

Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers, London, from June to July 1956.

Conducted negotiations in London for a review of the United Kingdom-Australia Trade Agreement, and in Geneva, November 1956.

Visit to Japan for the negotiation of a trade agreement between Australia and Japan, June to July 1957.

Visit to Malaya for the arrangement of a trade agreement between Australia and Malaya; visit to Ceylon for trade negotiations with the Government of Ceylon, and led Australian delegation to the Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference, Montreal, 23 August 1958 to 6 October 1958.

Trade talks in Washington, April 1959 New Zealand for trade discussions, from July to August 1960.

The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe for consultations and discussions on the effects of Australia's trade due to Britain's entry into the European Economic Community, from March to April 1962.

With the Prime Minister went to the Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers, London. September 1962.

New Zealand, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe for trade negotiations, from April to May 1963.

Hong Kong, Japan, and the Philippines for trade discussions and to negotiate a new Australia-Japan trade agreement, from July to August 1963.

Commonwealth Trade Ministers' Conference, London, and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Geneva, from March to April 1964.

Attended Inauguration of Papua and New Guinea House of Assembly, June 1964.

Leader of the Australian delegation to the International Sugar Conference, Geneva, from September to October 1965.

Commonwealth Trade Ministers' Meeting in London, and trade talks in the United States, from May to June 1966.

Poland and Bulgaria for trade talks, June 1966.

Australia-New Zealand Trade Agreement Talks, New Zealand, February 1967.

Talks with British ministers in London and went to Geneva for the final Kennedy Round negotiations of GATT, from April to May 1967.

Visit to Rumania to sign Trade Agreement, May 1967.

Trade ministers' meeting of GATT in Geneva for talks on program for future GATT negotiations in agriculture; attended OECD ministerial council meetings in Paris; visited Hungary for trade talks, from November to December 1967.

Led Australian delegation to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, New Delhi, February 1968.

Tokyo for trade talks, February 1968.

Parliamentary Party Positions


Invited to stand for the deputy leadership of the parliamentary Country Party in 1937. Lost by one vote.
Deputy Leader of the Country Party in the House of Representatives, from September 1943 to March 1958.
Leader of the Country Party, from 26 March 1958 to 1 February 1971.

Other Positions


Joined the Country Party at the age of 19.
Became a member of the Victorian Country Party in 1932.

Education

Schooling



Left school at 13.

Occupations


Started work at age 13 on the telephone switchboard with Rocke Tompsitt and Company, a pharmaceutical firm.
While working he attended night school.
Passed examination for the Commonwealth Public Service and, at age 15, obtained a job with the Commonwealth Crown Solicitor, under Fred Whitlam (Gough Whitlam's father).
Studied for the entrance examinations for the officer training college, Duntroon, but enlisted in the AIF instead.
Obtained a 35-hectare soldier settlement block in the Stanhope district.
Led a successful campaign to establish a cooperative dairy factory in the area. Became chairman of directors and the largest shareholder of the new company.
Later moved into sheep-farming.

Family History

Born



29 March 1900 at Chiltern, Victoria.
First of two children of David McEwen and Miss Porter.
David McEwen's father was a Presbyterian minister in Armagh, Northern Ireland.
David McEwen, who was a pharmacist, emigrated from Armagh to Australia and married a Miss Porter from Wangaratta
John McEwen was eighteen months old when his mother died.
John McEwen was seven when his father died.
He and his sister Amy were raised by their maternal grandmother, a widow who ran a boarding-house at Wangaratta.
John Ewen married Ann McLeod in 1921 (died 1967), and Mary Byrne in 1968.

Died

20 November 1980 at Melbourne, Victoria.

Honours

Privy Councillor, 1953

Military Service

Enlisted in Australian Imperial Force, 9 August 1918.

Appointment terminated on 24 December 1918 before embarkation for active service as a result of the demobilisation of the AIF.

Publications


John McEwen: His Story (privately published), 1983.

Further Reading


Aitken, Don et al., 'Blackjack McEwen - Shrewd Trader in Political Power', National Times, 23-29 November 1980.
Brass, Ken, 'The Man they Called "Blackjack" ', Australian, Weekend Magazine, 13-14 May 1984:1-2.
McEwen, John, John McEwen: His Story, 1983.
'McEwen: Strength through Growth', Australian, 4 January 1968: 7.
McGill, Peter, 'McEwen: A Retrospective Assessment', Business Review, August 1969:13.
Macklin, Robert, 'McEwen', Bulletin, 2 December 1980: 94-101.
Reid, A., 'The Next PM?', Bulletin, 19 April 1961: 14-16.
'Sir John McEwen: The Archetypal 'Tough' Politician' (Obituary) Canberra Times, 22 November 1980: 2.
Ellis, M.H., 'Deakin the Dreamer', Bulletin, 23 June 1962: 18-21.
'Sir John McEwen' The Times [Obituary]', 22 November 1980:14.
Souter, Gavin, 'McEwen: The Last of his Kind', Sydney Morning Herald, 7 November 1970: 2.

Top

Contents | Home

Sign Guestbook View Guestbook

View my old guestbook
Counter

http://www.oocities.org/CapitolHill/5557/mcewen.html

This page last updated on 01 Feb 01

The following advertising was randomly placed by GeoCities,
and does not necessarily reflect my personal interests, attitudes, opinions, or endorsements.
But it DOES keep those annoying pop-up ads off of my pages!
THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!