In 2006, New South Wales will celebrate 150 years of responsible government. Under the direction of Premier Bob Carr, the Government has a appointed a committee chaired by Rodney Cavaller to undertake and publish scholarly research on the passage of those years. UNSW Press is publishing several of these titles. Joseph Carruthers was one of the most important NSW politicians on the conservative side of politics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a Minister and observer in the final administrations of Sir Henry Parkes, for whom he had great admiration, later serving under Sir George Reid. He was a member of the Federal Convention that drafted the Australian Constitution, and in his memoirs, gives pen pictures of all the major figures attending the Convention. After Federation he remained in State politics, becoming one of the founders of the Liberal Party in NSW. He was a strong and reforming Premier from 1904 till 1907, when he retired due to ill health. He remained in the background of conservative politics for many years until his death in the 1930s.
His memoirs contain many insights into the personalities of that long period (for example, Henry Parkes, George Reid, Billy Hughes, John Storey), as well as his own reflections on the nature of the profession of politics, the federal relationship between Commonwealth and States, and the values of free trade. He was a man of culture and wide reading. His role as President of the NSW Cricket Association is reflected in an interesting chapter on cricket in the late 19th century, with some insights into the relationships between the worlds of politics and sport. This book is edited from a much longer memoir written by Carruthers shortly before his death and lodged in Mitchell Library.
- ISBN10 0868408727
- ISBN13 9780868408729
- Publish Date 1 June 2005
- Publish Status Inactive
- Out of Print 3 March 2011
- Publish Country AU
- Imprint UNSW Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 268
- Language English