Which position did King O'Malley hold from Mar 1901 to May 1917?
King OMalley King OMalley ( 2 July 1858 ? – 20 December 1953 ) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 1917 , and served two terms as Minister for Home Affairs ( 1910–1913 ; 1915–16 ) . He is remembered for his role in the development of the national capital Canberra , as well as his advocacy for the creation of a national bank . OMalley was of American origin and arrived in Australia in 1888 . He worked as an insurance salesman before entering politics , in both professions making use of his knack for oratory and publicity stunts . He served a single term in the South Australian House of Assembly ( 1896–1899 ) , before moving to Tasmania and winning election to the House of Representatives at the inaugural 1901 federal election . OMalley was a political radical , and joined the Labor Party upon its creation despite his status as one of the wealthiest members of parliament . He was a keen proponent of banking reform , especially the creation of a national bank , and successfully lobbied for its inclusion in the Labor platform . He was dissatisfied with the initial form of the Commonwealth Bank , but later proclaimed himself as its father ; the amount of credit he deserves for its creation has been debated . After Labor won the 1910 federal election , OMalley was elected to cabinet by the party caucus over the objections of Prime Minister Andrew Fisher . As home affairs minister , he oversaw the construction of the Trans-Australian Railway and the early development of the new national capital , including the design competition won by Walter Burley Griffin . He banned alcohol in the Australian Capital Territory . OMalleys second term as home affairs minister was troublesome , marked by conflict with Prime Minister Billy Hughes among others . He remained loyal to the ALP during the 1916 party split , but lost his seat at the 1917 election . OMalley was the last surviving member of the first federal parliament and spent his retirement defending his legacy . His political views combined with his personal background and personality traits made him a controversial figure during his career , and his life has continued to attract public interest . Early life . Birth and parentage . Uncertainty exists about the details of OMalleys birth and upbringing , largely due to the inconsistent accounts he provided throughout his life . He was probably born on 2 July 1858 in the U.S . Territory of Kansas . Numerous sources during his lifetime recorded his year of birth as 1858 , but after about 1940 he began to exaggerate his age , claiming a birth year of 1854 . At some point , he also began to celebrate his birthday on 4 July , coinciding with Independence Day in the United States . His private diaries record that he personally celebrated his birthday on 2 July until 1947 , but then apparently shifted the date by two days to emphasise his American origins . As a result , OMalleys obituaries listed his date of birth as 4 July 1854 . During his political career , OMalley claimed to have been born in Quebec , at a location called Stanford Farm close to the U.S . border . He stated that no birth certificate existed , as registration of births was not yet standard in frontier regions . This account of his birth differed from those he related at other periods of his life . In an 1893 letter to the editor of the Adelaide Advertiser , he proclaimed himself a humble sovereign citizen of that supreme nation , the United States . Towards the end of his life he wrote I am an American [ ... ] that is the truth . O’Malleys place of birth had implications for his status as a member of parliament . If he was born in Canada , as he claimed , he was a British subject and faced no eligibility restrictions . If he was born in the United States , his election to federal parliament was in violation of section 44 ( i ) of the constitution ; similar provisions applied in South Australia and Tasmania , where he also ran for parliament . O’Malleys claim of Canadian birth was received with skepticism during his lifetime , and has generally been regarded as unreliable . Although he was unable to provide any proof beyond a sworn affidavit , political opponents were also unable to conclusively prove that he was born an American . On his 1910 marriage certificate , O’Malley listed his parents as Ellen ( née King ) and William O’Malley , and his fathers occupation as rancher . His unusual given name was supposedly taken from his mothers family name , a common practice in the United States . His parents’ identities have not been corroborated , and other information that he gave on the certificate was of dubious accuracy . In 1913 , O’Malley stated that his father was born in Ballymena , in the north of Ireland . The following year , he said that his parents were British subjects born in the United Kingdom ( which included Ireland at the time ) . However , in old age he referred to his “American-born parents” . OMalley claimed to have a brother and sister , and apparently stayed with his brother Walter in the small community of Kelly , Kansas , when he returned to the U.S . in 1917 . Childhood . OMalley grew up in Kansas , possibly in Pawnee County . He likely had little formal education , as his writing was usually deficient in style , grammar and spelling . According to OMalleys own account , his father was killed in the American Civil War when he was a young boy . He was then sent to live in New York City with his aunt and uncle , Edward and Caroline OMalley , where his uncle ran a small bank near Wall Street . He began working there at the age of 14 , and was promoted to teller at 16 and handling loans by 19 . After a disagreement with his uncle , he left the bank at the age of 22 and took a job selling insurance . regards the basic facts of OMalleys account to be accurate , as he had a detailed knowledge of American banking practices and of New York City . However , he expresses doubt over the details . describes it as at least partially true , but notes there is no evidence to suggest that he ever lived in New York . Adult life in the United States . Before he moved to Australia , OMalley lived a transient lifestyle as an insurance salesman and real estate agent on the west coast of the United States . There are contemporary references to him in California , Oregon , and Washington Territory , as well as in his presumptive home state of Kansas . At various times OMalley sold policies for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company , the Home Life Insurance Company of New York , and the Equitable Life Insurance Company . In April 1887 , the Chicago Inter Ocean reported that he had forwarded policies amounting to $200,000 from Oregon , an immense sum at the time . He may have also made money engaging in land speculation , as he was wealthy enough to invest in property in Seattle which he retained for several decades . Surviving records indicate that he had somewhat dubious business practices – in 1887 he made a series of large deposits at a bank in Corvallis , Oregon , then abruptly withdrew his entire account . As a young man , OMalley became a devotee of the temperance movement ; his apparent home state of Kansas had been one of the first to enact statewide prohibition . He gave fiery public speeches in the towns where he sold insurance , warning against the dangers of what he called stagger juice . OMalley supported the pro-temperance Republican Party , and in 1884 stumped for the presidential campaign of James Blaine . He later claimed that he would have been appointed ambassador to Chile if Blaine won . While in Texas OMalley founded a church , taking the title of First Bishop of the Waterlily Rock Bound Church , the Red Skin Temple of the Cayuse Nation in order to take advantage of a government land grant then being offered to churches . In 1881 OMalley married Rosy Wilmot , who died from tuberculosis shortly before she was due to give birth in 1886 . OMalley claimed he had contracted the disease from her and in 1888 , having been given six months to live , he sailed for Queensland , Australia . Move to Australia . In April 1888 , the Oregon City Courier published an article titled King O’Malley Exposed . The newspaper reported that he and a partner had placed policies to the amount of tens of thousands of dollars by misrepresentation , and that the Home Life Insurance Company was actively warning customers not to take any money from him . OMalley left for Australia a few months later , arriving in Sydney in late July 1888 . He travelled from San Francisco via Hawaii aboard the SS Mariposa . He then went south to attend the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition ; his photograph appears in the exhibitions official albums , where he is listed as a representative of an American glass manufacturer . OMalley had a different version of his arrival in Australia . According to his account , he moved to Australia for health reasons , as he was suffering from tuberculosis . He supposedly arrived in the country at Port Alma , Queensland , then took up residence in a cave at Emu Park where an Aboriginal man named Coowonga nursed him back to health . He subsequently walked overland to Sydney and Melbourne before eventually reaching Adelaide . Of this account , states whatever its merits as a story , it has absolutely none as a statement of fact . OMalley fabricated a dramatic arrival story to hide his real reason for leaving the United States – to escape embezzlement allegations . Given the documentary evidence placing him in Sydney and Melbourne in 1888 , it would have required a rapid recovery from tuberculosis followed by a walking journey of hundreds of miles , conducted within a timespan of several months . South Australia . By May 1893 , OMalley was living in Adelaide , South Australia . During that years banking crisis , the South Australian Register published a number of letters from him on financial matters . He continued to sell life insurance , excelling at self-promotion . As a publicity stunt , in April 1894 he announced his candidacy for a by-election in the seat of East Torrens , but never formally nominated . In January 1896 , the Register reported that OMalley would be a candidate for the seat of Encounter Bay at the upcoming general election . Encounter Bay was a rural seat electing two MPs to the House of Assembly . Although not a resident of the electorate , OMalley was apparently a frequent visitor to the area [ ... ] popular with various people in Goolwa and Victor Harbor . He stood as an independent , surprising observers by topping the poll ahead of William Carpenter of the United Labor Party ( ULP ) , sitting MP Henry Downer of the Australasian National League , and former MP Charles Hussey . He enjoyed strong support among the newly enfranchised female voters , who were sympathetic to his pro-temperance views . At the opening of parliament in June 1896 , OMalley and seven others refused to take an oath of office and were refused their seats . They were eventually allowed to make affirmations and take their place . After his election OMalley took up residence in a coffee palace on Hindley Street , Adelaide , although he made frequent visits to his electorate . In parliament he concentrated on social matters , starting with a proposal to regulate barmaids , the use of which he regarded as a social evil . His attempt to amend a government liquor licensing bill to that end was unsuccessful . OMalley next introduced a bill requiring seats to be provided for shop assistants , which also failed , followed by a successful motion calling for train carriages to be provided with lavatories and better lighting . A private members bill he introduced in 1897 eventually passed as the Legitimation Act 1898 , allowing for the legitimation of children born out of wedlock whose parents subsequently married . By this time OMalley had aligned himself with the government of Charles Kingston , declaring himself on the side of the ministry and calling Kingston the greatest democratic leader this country had ever known . He strongly supported federation and in a series of parliamentary speeches championed the U.S . constitution as a model for Australia . However , little notice was taken of his views . OMalley was defeated for re-election in Encounter Bay at the April 1899 general election , with William Carpenter outpolling him by 14 votes and Charles Tucker outpolling both . The election was fought largely on the temperance issue , with Tucker enjoying the support of the Licensed Victuallers Association . Their supporters clashed on a number of occasions , culminating in a near riot at Goolwa the day after the election . A petition was subsequently lodged against Tuckers return , on the grounds that he had attempted to bribe electors . The result was declared void in July 1899 and another election ordered , which was equally acrimonious but resulted in a clear victory for Tucker against OMalley . Federal politics . OMalley was defeated at the 1899 election , and the following year he moved to Tasmania , the smallest of the Australian colonies . There , a tall , fashionably-dressed American preaching the Gospel and radical democracy drew immediate attention , and he was elected at the 1901 federal election as a member for Tasmania , along with four others . In 1903 he was elected as the member for Darwin . Although there was no Labour Party in Tasmania at this time , he joined the Labour Party Caucus when the Parliament assembled in Melbourne . Historian Gavin Souter describes OMalley at this time : OMalleys monstrously overgrown persona seemed to be inhabited simultaneously by a spruiker from Barnums three-ring circus , a hell-and-tarnation revivalist , and a four-flushing Yankee Congressman . He was a moderately big man , auburn-haired with watchful grey eyes and a red-brown beard , wearing a wide-brimmed felt hat , blue-grey suit with huge lapels and a low-cut vest , loose cravat with a diamond collar stud , and in the centre of his cream silk shirt-front a fiery opal . OMalley was clearly one of the more prominent and colourful members of the Parliament , but his radical ideas were not widely accepted , and many regarded him as a charlatan . He became a prominent advocate of a national bank as a means of providing cheap credit for farmers and small businessmen . He was not a member of Chris Watsons first Labour ministry in 1904 , or of Andrew Fishers first ministry in 1908 . But in April 1910 the Caucus elected him to the ministry of Fishers second government . Ross McMullin , who wrote an official history of the ALP , suggested his election as minister was probably attributable in part to the fact that several caucus colleagues owed him money . Canberra . OMalley became Minister for Home Affairs , and played a prominent role in selecting the site of the future capital of Australia , Canberra . He declared American architect Walter Burley Griffin winner of the town planning competition . On 20 February 1913 , OMalley drove in the first peg marking the start of the development of the city . He was also present at the ceremony for the naming of Canberra on 12 March 1913 . As a teetotaler he was responsible for the highly unpopular ban on alcohol in the Australian Capital Territory from 1911 to 1928 . He could also claim credit for beginning the building of the Trans-Australian Railway from Port Augusta to Perth . Commonwealth Bank . OMalley also agitated for the establishment of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia , a state-owned savings and investment bank although , contrary to his later claims , he was not the banks sole creator . He later wrote that he had led a torpedo squad in Caucus to force a reluctant Cabinet to establish the bank , but historians do not accept this . Prime Minister Fisher was the banks principal architect . Partly to allay fears of funny money aroused by OMalleys populist rhetoric , Fisher ensured that the bank would be run on firmly sound money principles , and the bank as established did not provide the easy credit for farmers that the radicals desired . Final years in parliament . Labor was defeated at the 1913 federal election , and when it returned to office at the 1914 federal election , OMalley was not re-elected to the Cabinet . In October 1915 , however , Fisher retired and OMalley returned to office in the first ministry of Billy Hughes , again as Minister for Home Affairs . But a year later the government split over the determination of Hughes to introduce conscription to fill the ranks of Australias armed forces in World War I . Although he was not an active anti-conscriptionist , OMalley was pressured by Hughes to resign his portfolio but he refused to do so . He finally lost office on 13 November 1916 when Hughes and twenty-four other Labor members walked out of the Caucus and formed the National Labor ministry . Hughes called the 1917 federal election , and OMalley was heavily defeated in his northern Tasmanian seat of Darwin by former Labor colleague Charles Howroyd , a conscriptionist who was running for Hughes Nationalist Party . OMalley suffered a swing of almost 15 percent , and was one of many Labor figures swept out in that years massive Nationalist landslide . He stood unsuccessfully in the seat of Denison in 1919 , and in Bass in 1922 , but he was never again returned to elected office . Later life . Although he was only 63 at the time of his defeat , he retired to Melbourne and devoted his time to building up his own legend , particularly in relation to the Commonwealth Bank , and to polemical journalism on a variety of pet causes . He lived to be about 95 , outliving his nemesis Hughes by 14 months . At the time of his death he was the last surviving member of the first Australian Parliament and last surviving MP who served when Edmund Barton was Prime Minister . Furthermore , he was the last surviving member of Andrew Fishers second Cabinet . Legacy . OMalleys importance in developing the national capital is remembered in Canberra with the suburb of OMalley being named after him . A pub in Canberra , King OMalleys Irish Pub in Civic , is also named after him – a tongue-in-cheek reference to his sponsorship of the unpopular alcohol ban in the Australian Capital Territory during Canberras early years . OMalley is the subject of a 1970 musical play The Legend of King OMalley by Michael Boddy and Bob Ellis .