The National Liberal Union of Queensland, also referred to simply as the Liberals, was an Australian protectionist organisation that was active in the early 1900s.[1] It endorsed candidates at elections and provided extra-parliamentary support for anti-Labour politics.[2]
National Liberal Union | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | NLU |
| Founded | August 1901 |
| Dissolved | 1909 |
| Preceded by | Queensland Political Association |
| Succeeded by | Liberal Party |
| Ideology | Protectionism Liberalism |
| National affiliation | Protectionist Party |
History edit
The NLU was formed in August 1901, as a successor to the Queensland Political Association.[3]
In 1902, Protectionist Party leader Alfred Deakin said in a letter to The Morning Post, a London newspaper, that "Ministerial forces were best under control" in southern Queensland through the NLU.[4]
As the Protectionists were not active in Queensland at the time, the NLU endorsed candidates in the House of Representatives and Senate for the 1903 federal election.[5][6] Two NLU MPs were elected, but none of the organisation's three senate candidates were successful.[5]
The NLU remained active for a number of years, although they were largely replaced by the Anti-Socialist Party at the 1906 federal election.[1] The only Protectionist candidate in Queensland was Darling Downs MP Littleton Groom, however by that time he did not appear to be linked to the NLU anymore.[7]
Herbert Beaumont Marks served as the party's secretary for its Townsville branch in 1909.[2] The NLU faded away around that time, which is when the Liberal Party was formed out of a 'fusion' of the Protectionists and Anti-Socialists.[8]
References edit
- ^ a b "National Liberal Union of Queensland". Trove. Morning Post.
- ^ a b "The Townsville Chamber of Commerce Jubilee Brochure, 1882–19321" (PDF). p. 2.
- ^ "THE POLITICS OF EXPEDIENCY QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT IN THE EIGHTEEN-NINETIES" (PDF).
- ^ "Alfred Deakin's letters to the London Morning Post". Trove. p. 59.
- ^ a b "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA LEGISLATIVE ELECTION OF 16 DECEMBER 1903". Psephos: Adam Carr's Electoral Archive.
- ^ "NATIONAL LIBERAL UNION". Trove. The Brisbane Courier.
- ^ "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA LEGISLATIVE ELECTION OF 12 DECEMBER 1906". Psephos: Adam Carr's Electoral Archive.
- ^ "Federal Fusion. Conference Between Leaders". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 May 1909.