The Story of Henry Parkes

Henry Parkes was born in England in 1815 into a lower-middle class farming family. He was the youngest of seven children.

The family farm didn’t succeed, so Henry had to work from a young age to help support his family. Because of this, Henry didn’t have much of an education. Even though he didn’t go to school very often, he still loved to learn about the world and to read – poetry especially. He worked as a labourer, a brick maker and a bone and ivory turner.

Henry was interested in politics from a young age; when he was 17, he joined a political union. Henry started his own business as a bone and ivory turner. The business failed after only one year. Sadly, this was the first of several business failures for him. Over his life, he was married three times. His first wife was Clarinda, whom he married in England. He and Clarinda set sail for a new start in Australia.

Henry, Clarinda and their first surviving child (who was born at sea) arrived in Sydney in 1839. He wrote articles and poems that were published in newspapers, and over time he published three of his own books. Henry took a job in the Customs Department and began to grow influential in his work with processing convict and immigrant arrivals into Australia. Read some of Henry’s poems

Henry became a full time politician and journalist in the 1850s. He was described as being charismatic, and having a strong personality. His political strength lay in his ability to make great speeches and persuade people. Listen to some of Henry Parkes’ most famous speech: the Tenterfield speech (skip forward to 1.30min)

In 1877, he was elected as premier for the New South Wales colony. Henry resigned from politics several times, mostly due to petty fights between politicians. He was premier of NSW a total of four times, and was the leader of the opposition for several years.

Some of his main political policies were: For women to have equal rights as men Promoting free trade between the colonies of Australia (at that time there were heavy taxes or “tariffs”) Improving public school systems He was involved in shaping the constitution.

Henry and representatives from the other Australian colonies visited America and England. They did this to strengthen our ties with the two countries, and in particular to strengthen our trading relationships with the countries.

He also wrote and published many articles about this. Henry Parkes firmly believed that Australia would be stronger if it were federated – one country instead of six separate states. In fact, he did so much towards federation that he is now known as “the Father of Federation”. He did a lot of travelling to convince people that federation was a wise move. He also wrote and published many articles about this. Henry Parkes (centre) with representatives from the other British colonies in Australia

The main arguments Henry used to convince people that federation was a good idea were: 1) It would strengthen our economy (money) 2) We would have more control over customs and immigration (who and what comes into the country) 3) It would strengthen our defence capabilities (the Army)

Throughout his life, Henry Parkes experienced many ups and downs Throughout his life, Henry Parkes experienced many ups and downs. He was very poor at money management and had several failed businesses. He mostly lived in NSW, in particular Sydney. His wife, Clarinda died in 1888, and he remarried to Eleanor in 1889, only for her to die six years later. His last wife was Julia, and she was very much younger than Henry was. Henry had a total of 17 children. Henry passed away in 1896

Today, Australia remembers Henry Parkes as the “Father of Federation”. His memory is honoured in books, statues, stamps and currency.