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y separately published work icon Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia single work   biography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2008... 2008 Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Prime Minister Andrew Fisher was one of Australia's great nation-builders, yet his story is largely unknown. He left school early to work in the coalmines of Scotland, educating himself at night. In 1885, at the age of 22, he immigrated to Queensland where he found work as a miner and as a Sunday school teacher.

'A staunch Presbyterian and fervent unionist, Fisher committed himself to politics and was soon elected to the Queensland parliament, then to the first federal parliament. In 1908 he became prime minister for the first of three stints in the job, serving Australia for longer than John Curtin, Ben Chifley, Gough Whitlam or Paul Keating.

'As prime minister, Fisher launched a massive nation-building program, which included the establishment of the national capital, the Commonwealth Bank, old age pensions, and a transcontinental railway line. His most pressing concern was to populate and defend the new nation. To this end he famously pledged to back Britain in the Great War 'to the last man and the last shilling' - a commitment that came at the heavy cost of Gallipoli and the Western Front.

'Andrew Fisher was a man who hated imperial honours, yet enjoyed the trappings of office, a leader who believed in world socialism, yet took Australians into the First World War. In this authoritative and immensely readable biography, David Day reveals the man, his politics and his remarkable legacy.' (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Launched by Barry Jones at Montsalvat, Eltham, Victoria, 18 October 2008.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Pymble, Turramurra - Pymble - St Ives area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: HarperCollins Australia , 2008 .
      Extent: 512p.
      Note/s:
      • Includes index and bibliography.
      • Publication date: 1 October 2008.
      ISBN: 9780732276102

Works about this Work

Conflicts and Loyalty Michelle Grattan , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 13 December 2008; (p. 32)

— Review of Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia David Day , 2008 single work biography
To the Last Man Nicholas Brown , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 307 2008; (p. 11-12)

— Review of Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia David Day , 2008 single work biography
When Politics Was the Pits Ross Fitzgerald , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15-16 November 2008; (p. 36)

— Review of Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia David Day , 2008 single work biography
The PM that Time Forgot Stephen Wilks , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 25 October 2008; (p. 15)

— Review of Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia David Day , 2008 single work biography
Dutiful to a Fault David Burchell , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 18-19 October 2008; (p. 15)

— Review of Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia David Day , 2008 single work biography
Dutiful to a Fault David Burchell , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 18-19 October 2008; (p. 15)

— Review of Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia David Day , 2008 single work biography
The PM that Time Forgot Stephen Wilks , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 25 October 2008; (p. 15)

— Review of Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia David Day , 2008 single work biography
When Politics Was the Pits Ross Fitzgerald , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15-16 November 2008; (p. 36)

— Review of Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia David Day , 2008 single work biography
To the Last Man Nicholas Brown , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 307 2008; (p. 11-12)

— Review of Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia David Day , 2008 single work biography
Conflicts and Loyalty Michelle Grattan , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 13 December 2008; (p. 32)

— Review of Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia David Day , 2008 single work biography
Last amended 12 May 2010 13:11:12
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