Politics
Edmund Barton
First Prime Minister of Australia
Born 1849 · Died 1920
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain
«For the first time in history we have a nation for a continent, and a continent for a nation.»
Edmund Barton led the campaign to federate Australia's separate colonies into one country and became its first prime minister in 1901. He later served as a founding justice of the High Court of Australia.
Key achievements
- First Prime Minister of Australia, 1901–1903
- Led the campaign for Australian Federation
- Founding justice of the High Court of Australia
Universities
Sydney, New South Wales
Took a first-class degree in classics in 1868, the first student to graduate with first-class honours from the university.
Facts
- He was the first student in the university's history to graduate with first-class honours.
- He spent a decade travelling the colonies arguing the case for federation before it was achieved.
- He was a cricket umpire in his youth and once made a controversial decision in a match against an English touring team.
Photographs
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and licence are shown on each image.