Alfred Deakin was one of the framers of the Australian Constitution and became Australia's second Prime Minister in 1903. Born in Melbourne, he began training to become a barrister at the age of sixteen, working also as a schoolteacher and private coach. Like most law students at the time, he completed the required law subjects at the University, but did not enrol for a law degree.
Deakin became a barrister in 1877, but spent most of his time in writing and journalism. The powerful editor of the Age newspaper, David Syme, supported his entry into politics. Deakin became known as one of the best public speakers of his day. In parliament, he initiated pioneering health and safety regulation of factories, and supported irrigation schemes. Though he never became Premier, he was one of the leaders of the coalition that governed Victoria from 1885 to 1890.
He suffered personally and politically in the economic crisis of the early 1890s. He returned to the backbenches, refusing to hold office as a minister. Instead, he revived his work as a barrister and, most of all, threw himself into the federation movement. He was an influential member of the constitutional conventions of 1891 and 1897-8 and led the Victorian campaign for federation.
Deakin became Attorney-General in the first federal government in 1901. His advice and drafting contributed to much of the foundational legislation of the Australian Parliament. When his bill for the creation of the High Court encountered resistance in 1902, he made the most famous speech of his career to rally support; the speech is still sometimes cited in the High Court to explain its role.
When Edmund Barton resigned as Prime Minister to become a judge of the new court in 1903, Deakin took his place, holding office three times down to 1910. His consensus-based, small-l liberal governments linked protective tariffs with wages and conditions (leading to Henry Higgins' famous Harvester Judgment). Deakin was a prominent figure in relations between the various parts of the British empire, and took fundamental steps to strengthen Australia's armed forces.
Deakin's government was defeated at the polls in 1910, and he retired from parliament at the start of 1913. A form of dementia gradually afflicted him, taking away his memory and his ability to speak. He died in 1919, at the age of 63.
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