John Christian Watson was born on 9 April 1867 at Valparaiso, Chile. He spent most of his childhood in New Zealand and, after leaving school at age 10, worked on railway construction and on his step-father’s farm. He subsequently became an apprentice newspaper compositor on the North Otago Times and the Oamaru Mail. Watson migrated to Australia in 1886 and settled in Sydney, working as a compositor on the Daily Telegraph and the Sydney Morning Herald. In 1888 he moved to the Australian Star, a new protectionist paper. Watson had been a member of the local typographers union in New Zealand and he became active in the Typographical Association of New South Wales. In January 1890 he was elected a delegate to the New South Wales Trades and Labor Council, becoming vice-president in January 1892 and president later in the same year.

In March 1891 Watson was involved in the formation of the Labor Electoral League (the basis of the Labor Party) and during the 1890s was prominent in establishing structure and unity in the New South Wales Labor Party. In April 1891 he became foundation secretary of the West Sydney Branch of the Labor Electoral League and campaigned for Labor candidates in the general election of June 1891 at which all four West Sydney seats were won by Labor. In 1892 Watson became chairman of the Party. At both the special Labor unity conference of November 1893 and the March 1894 annual party conference, Watson played a prominent role in discussions concerning the controversial 'solidarity pledge' which entailed Labor members not voting against majority caucus decisions. He also became president of the provincial council of the Australian Labor Federation and shortly thereafter was on the executive of the Political Labor League, which grew out of May 1895 meetings between the Labor Electoral League and the Australian Labor Federation.

In July 1894 Watson was elected member for Young in the NSW Legislative Assembly, holding the seat until 1901 when he resigned to enter Federal parliament. In January 1900 Watson was a key figure at the inter-colonial Labor conference held to develop a federal Labor structure and platforms to contest the first federal elections held in March 1901. Watson was elected federal member for Bland, NSW, subsequently becoming member for South Sydney in December 1906 when the seat of Bland was abolished. Watson was elected leader of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party in May 1901, a position he retained until he resigned in October 1907. Labor held the balance of power for much of this time, usually supporting Protectionist governments and manoeuvring to get Labor views heard in parliament.

When Labor withdrew support from the Deakin Government in April 1904 over the government’s refusal to include State public servants in the conciliation and arbitration bill, Watson became Prime Minister and Treasurer. He also had the distinction of being leader of the first national labour government in the world. During his four months as Prime Minister, Watson struggled to gain piecemeal support from the Protectionists and the Free Traders. On 18 August 1904 Labor lost government after both parties voted against an amendment to the conciliation and arbitration bill concerning preference to unionists.

Watson continued as leader of the Labor Party until he resigned in October 1907, finally leaving parliament in April 1910. He remained involved in the NSW and Federal Labor Parties as an election campaigner and a member of the NSW Party executive. Watson also assisted in publication of the AWU paper The Worker and was a director of Labor Papers Ltd. Watson supported Prime Minister Hughes’ pro-conscription stance in 1916 and as a result discontinued his association with the Labor Party. Watson subsequently played a leading role in the formation of the Australian Democratic Labor League which became known as the National Federation in January 1917 and shortly after as the National Party. From 1915 to 1917 Watson was involved in an honorary capacity in employment schemes for returned soldiers and in the soldier settlement program.

During the 1920s Watson became active in business: he was involved in Brisbane Metal Quarries Ltd, was a director of several companies including F W Hughes Pty Ltd (a successful wool and textile business), Alexandria Spinning Mills Ltd and Yellow Cabs of Australia Ltd. In the 1930s he was president of the Australian Industries Protection League (NSW branch), a trustee of the Sydney Cricket Ground and chairman of directors of the Australian Motorists Petrol Co. Ltd (Ampol). His most significant position was as president of the National Roads Association (1920-23) which, in 1923, became the National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA). Watson remained president of the NRMA until his death on 18 November 1941.

On 27 November 1889 Watson had married Ada Jane Lowe (CP 933), who died in April 1921, and in October 1925 he married Antonia Mary Gladys Dowlan.

Papers

The National Archives of Australia does not hold any of John Christian Watson’s personal papers. However, records relating to Watson are located in departmental series, particularly in Prime Minister’s Department and Governor-General’s series.

Records relating to Watson can be found on RecordSearch using the keywords ‘john christian watson’ or ‘j c watson’. Photographs of Watson can be viewed on PhotoSearch, also available on our website or in our reading rooms, by entering the keyword ‘john christian watson’.

Sources

Australian Dictionary of Biography (Melbourne University Press, 1990), Vol 12, 1891-1939, pp 400-05

The Australian Encyclopaedia (Australian Geographic, 6th ed, 1996), Vol 8, pp 3056-57

Commonwealth Parliamentary Handbook 1901-15 (Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, 1915)

McMullin, Ross, 'John Christian Watson' in M Grattan (ed), Australian Prime Ministers (Sydney, New Holland, 2000), pp. 54-62

Unregistered agencies associated with person

July 1894 - March 1901: New South Wales legislative Assembly - Member for Young

1916 - 1917: Federal Parliamentary War Committee – Honorary Organiser