A quiver full of arrows

Birthday wishes are in order for Joseph Lyons, tenth Prime Minister of Australia, and to date, the only Tasmanian to have served in that office, taking power in January 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression. Because of his appearance, with large eyes and an unruly mop of hair, political cartoonists caricatured him as a koala.

According to the Museum of Australian Democracy:

Joseph Lyons was one of Australia’s longest serving and most popular prime ministers. His commitment to Australians living within our means, even during the extreme conditions of the Great Depression, led him to abandon the Labor Party for the conservative side of politics. This did not impact on his electoral success, as he won three elections in a row in the 1930s, but it did leave him open to periodic criticism.

Lyons worked as a teacher before winning the State seat of Wilmot for Labor in 1929. A pacifist, Lyons campaigned for a ‘No’ vote in the conscription referenda of 1916-17. Lyons became Premier of Tasmania in 1923 and worked closely with the conservative government in Canberra. In 1929 Lyons successfully stood for the Federal seat of Wilmot. During the Depression years Lyons advocated orthodox finance, opposing the policies of Treasurer Ted Theodore. Prime Minister Scullin took over the Treasury portfolio in 1930, leaving Lyons as acting Treasurer from August 1930 to January 1931. Lyons' cautious economic approach won him public support, but infuriated the Labor Caucus. When Theodore was reinstated as treasurer, Lyons defected. Supported by businessmen, citizens and Robert Menzies, Lyons joined with the Nationalist and the Australian Party to become leader of the new United Australia Party. In 1931, Lyons became prime minister and the Coalition maintained power in the 1934 and 1937 elections. On 7 April 1939, Lyons died unexpectedly of a heart attack while in office. 

Lyons was the first of two Prime Ministers to die in office. After his death, Lyons's widow, Enid, went on to become the first woman to sit in the House of Representatives, and a Cabinet member during the Menzies government.

http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/lyons/fast-facts.aspx

https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/L/Joseph%20Lyons.htm

Building bridges

Yesterday marked 85 years since the official opening of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I have walked across it at street level, from the Rocks to Milson's Point.

The State Library of New South Wales has set up an online archive of interviews with bridge workers.

The opening ceremony was memorable because the ceremonial ribbon cutting by New South Wales Premier, Jack Lang, was interrupted by a man on horseback in military uniform slashing at the ribbon with a sword. He turned out to be Francis de Groot, a member of the semi-fascistic New Guard.

The New Guard was a paramilitary organisation, active in Australia during the Great Depression, but it eventually fizzled out. De Groot was in the Australian Army during the Second World War, but he later returned to his furniture business. He died in Dublin in 1969.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-19/sydney-harbour-bridge-celebrates-85th-birthday/8363688

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/de-groot-francis-edward-frank-12881

https://amplify.sl.nsw.gov.au/?sort_by=random&order=asc&collection_id=2