AustLit

George Pearce was an Australian federal politician who became instrumental in founding the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Western Australia. After leaving school at age 11 he worked on farms before taking up a career as a carpenter in Adelaide. When he lost his job in the early 1890s as a result of the depression Pearce moved to Western Australia to take up employment opportunities there and soon afterwards joined the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners. Through his active involvement in the union movement he helped found the Progressive Political League, a precursor to the West Australian branch of the ALP, in 1893.

In 1901 Pearce was elected to the first Commonwealth Parliament as a Senator for Western Australia and seven years later was appointed Minister for Defence under Prime Minister Andrew Fisher. He oversaw the foundation of the naval college at Jervis Bay and Royal Military College, Duntroon and following the election of Billy Hughes as Australian Prime Minister in 1914 was named Deputy Leader of the ALP.

Pearce remained a senator for 37 years. During that time he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (1927) joined the newly formed United Australia Party in 1932 and served as a minister in the government of Joseph Lyons until his defeat in 1937. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the Senate of the first Australian Parliament.