Andrew Fisher was born at Crosshouse, Ayrshire, Scotland on 29 August 1862. He began working in the local coalmines at the age of about ten and had a limited formal education. In 1879 he became secretary of the local Crosshouse branch of the Ayrshire Miners' Union and remained involved in the Union through turbulent times until 1885 when he migrated to Queensland, Australia. Fisher eventually settled on the goldfields at Gympie, working as a miner and then engine driver.
Fisher became involved in a number of Gympie community organisations and then in local union and labour politics. He joined the 'Amalgamated Miners' Association', and during 1890-91 served as secretary and then president of the Association’s Gympie branch. In mid-1891, Fisher became secretary of the Gympie Joint Labor Committee, a break- away group from the Australian Labor Federation formed in Brisbane in June 1889. The Queensland Labor Party soon grew out of the union-based Australian Labor Federation and in July 1891 a Gympie branch of the Party was formed with Fisher as president.
In April 1893 Fisher was elected a Labor member for Gympie in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, remaining in the Assembly until March 1896 when he lost his seat. Shortly after Fisher established the left-leaning Gympie newspaper, Truth. He remained involved in Labor politics, representing Gympie at the Labor Party Convention in Brisbane in June 1898. In March 1899 Fisher was re-elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Gympie and was appointed Secretary for Railways and Public Works in the Dawson Labor government, which lasted only 6 days in December 1899.
Fisher was a supporter of Federation and at the first Federal elections became the federal Labor member for Wide Bay (Qld), which he remained until his retirement 15 years later, having retained the seat at general elections in 1903, 1906, 1910, 1913 and 1914. In May 1901 Fisher was involved in the formation of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party. In the first Federal Labor government (April - August 1904), led by John Christian Watson, Fisher was Minister for Trade and Customs. On 9 August 1905, when Labor was again in Opposition, Fisher was elected deputy leader to ease Watson's workload and in October 1907 he became leader after Watson resigned.
In November 1908, the Deakin government fell due to loss of Labor support and Fisher became Prime Minister and Treasurer. During approximately six months in power, Fisher's government amended the Seat of Government Act (1904) to designate the Yass-Canberra region the prime location for the capital, the Manufacturers Encouragement Act was passed and the government accepted responsibility for local naval defence. In June 1909, the new Fusion Party, consisting of Alfred Deakin's Protectionists and Joseph Cook's Free Traders, defeated the Fisher Labor government. Fisher remained Labor Party Leader and hence was Leader of the Opposition.
On 13 April 1910 Labor again won power and Fisher became Prime Minister and Treasurer for a second time. During the following three years in power the Fisher government established the Commonwealth Bank and a Royal Commission into the sugar industry, twice amended the Conciliation and Arbitration Act (1904), and introduced a Land Tax Act applicable to large estates. The Commonwealth acquired the Northern Territory from South Australia, annual per capita grants to the States were introduced and enrolment for Federal elections was made compulsory. Maternity allowances and workers compensation for Commonwealth employees were provided and the High Court increased from five to seven judges. A proposal for greater Commonwealth powers was put to referendum but was defeated.
Fisher was appointed to the Privy Council in 1911 when he visited Britain for the Imperial Conference and Coronation of George V. At the Imperial Conference he argued that Britain should consult with the Dominions over foreign policy. At the June 1913 elections Labor lost government by one seat and again Fisher became Leader of the Opposition. In September 1914, Labor won government with Fisher serving as Prime Minister and Treasurer for a third time. The main priority of this government was the despatch of troops to WWI and the organisation of war finance. In October 1915 Fisher resigned and William Morris Hughes took over as Prime Minister.
In January 1916 Andrew Fisher succeeded another former Prime Minister, Sir George Reid, as Australian High Commissioner in London and made his East St Kilda home a convalescent home for soldiers. As High Commissioner Fisher was a member of the Dardanelles Commission and visited Australian troops in France (but declined a Légion d'honneur from the French government). Fisher remained High Commissioner until January 1921. He briefly returned to Australia in 1921 but in 1922 settled in London, where he remained until his death on 22 October 1928. Fisher had married Margaret Jane Irvine on 31 December 1901. Margaret Fisher (CP 944) who outlived her husband by 30 years died on 15 June 1958.
Papers
The National Archives of Australia does not hold any of Andrew Fisher’s personal papers. However, records relating to Fisher are contained in departmental series, particularly in series created by the Prime Minister’s Office and its successor the Prime Minister’s Department, the Governor-General and the Department of External Affairs. Records relating to Fisher can be found on RecordSearch using the keywords ‘andrew fisher’, ‘a fisher’, prime minister fisher’, ‘p m fisher’, ‘fisher government’ and ‘fisher ministry’.
Sources
Australian Dictionary of Biography (Melbourne University Press, 1981), Vol 8, 1891-1939, pp. 502-507
The Australian Encyclopaedia (Australian Geographic, 6th ed, 1996), p. 1345
Commonwealth Parliament Handbook 1901-1920 (Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, 1921), p. 112
Lloyd, Clem, 'Andrew Fisher' in M Grattan (ed), Australian Prime Ministers (Sydney, New Holland, 2000), pp. 72-86
Unregistered agencies associated with person
1 Dec 1899 - 7 Dec 1899: Queensland Department of Railways - Secretary
1 Dec 1899 - 7 Dec 1899: Queensland Department of Public Works - Secretary