This is the story of an easy-going Sydney politician, with a reputation for indulging in the pleasures of the table and enjoying a game of cricket, who became possessed by one enduring enthusiasm. That passion, maintained over almost two decades, was to forge a new country from a collection of British colonies. How did Edmund Barton, only one of the many who contributed to the federal cause, come to be regarded as its actual and symbolic leader? In the company of men like Henry Parkes, Samuel Griffiths, George Reid and Alfred Deakin, Barton was by no measure the most flamboyant or forceful of these campaigners. So what led the supporters of Federation to acknowledge the man caricatured in the press as ‘Tosspot Toby’ as the necessary man, ‘the one for the job’ of the first prime minister of the Commonwealth of Australia? From his early days as a struggling young Sydney lawyer, then blooded in the turbulent politics of colonial New South Wales, Barton came to realise the importance of Federation. The genial gentleman from clubland embarked on a personal crusade: he found common ground between strident colonial rivals, steered a draft constitution through two fractious conventions, travelled thousands of kilometres to convince open-air audiences, confronted interfering London ‘statesmen’, risked bankruptcy and negotiated the necessary compromises to create a new political identity. Without Barton’s talents, Australia might not have become a commonwealth in 1901. Few Australians recall the name of their first prime minister, fewer know what kind of man he was. This, the first biography in fifty years, demonstrates that Edmund Barton was, and is, worth knowing.

CONTENTS:
Acknowledgements iv. Introduction: Encountering Edmund Barton vii. 1: Mr Micawber’s son p1. 2: Young Australia p17. 3: ‘Mr Speaker’ p38. 4: ‘My bristles are up’ p61. 5: Slow progress p83. 6: Federation becalmed p104. 7: Federation reviving p127. 8: Leader of the Convention p143. 9: Barton versus Reid p166. 10: Federation triumphant p193. 11: Prime Minister: Foundations p223. 12: Life at the top p251. 13: The road to resignation p279. 14: Mr Justice Barton p301. 15: Death of an elder statesmen p326. 16: Reputation p338. Notes p348. Bibliography p370. Index p376.

ILLUSTRATIONS (selected):
Contains political cartoons throughout.
Between pages 186 and 187: William Barton about 1827. Mary Whydah about 1827. The young cricketer, Edmund Barton in Melbourne 1870. The drafting committee of the Commonwealth Constitution 1898: John William Downer, Edmund Barton and Richard O’Connor. A Spy cartoon portrait published in ‘Vanity Fair’ 16-10-1902. Edmund Barton with Alfred Deakin. The commemorative menu printed for Barton’s farewell banquet before his trip to the coronation and Premier’s conference in 1902. Edmund Barton and John Forrest in Venice, on their way to the Premier’s conference, Jeanie is sitting on Edmund’s left. Jeanie Barton. Jeanie Barton in her Court dress. The controversial medallion presented to Barton by Pope Leo XIII in 1902. Wilfred Barton. Stephanie Barton and her parents. Lady Barton in old age. Lady Barton in the Barton’s home.

FROM THE INDEX:
Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott. William Abbott. Francis Abigail. Sir George Wigram Allen. Sir John Anderson. Desbrowe Annear. Jules Francois Archibald. Athenaeum Club (Sydney). Australasian Federation League. William Astley. Charles Badham. Sir Richard Chaffey Baker. Arthur James Balfour. Banking crisis 1892-93, general; impact on federation. Bishop Frederick Barker. Alice Barton (later Hamersley). Arnold Hubert Barton. David Barton. Edmund Alfred Barton. Edmund Farley Barton. Ellen Barton. George Burdett Barton. Henry Barton. Jane Barton. Jeanie Barton (nee Jane Mason Ross). Jean Alice Barton (later Maughan). ‘Leila’ Stephanie Barton (later Scot-Skirving). Mary Louisa Barton. Oswald Barton. Sydney Fitzgerald Barton. Ursula Barton (nee Crace). William Barton. William Barton jnr. Thomas Bavin (Barton’s secretary). Brigadier-General Beatson. William, Seventh Earl Beauchamp. Randolph Bedford. George Black MLA. R.G. Blackmore. Sir John Langdon Bonython. Sir Edward Braddon. Burton Bradley. Lucien Brient. St John Brodrick. Leon Broinowski. Herbert Brookes. Stanley Melbourne Bruce. James Nixon Brunker. James, Lord Bryce. Dr Herbert Henry Bullmore. Thomas Byrnes. Charles, third Baron Carrington. Sir Joseph Hector Carruthers. Joseph Chamberlain. Andrew Inglis Clark. Manning Clark. Francis Clarke. Sir John Cockburn. George Cockerill. William Coffey. Sir Timothy Coghlan. Jenkin Coles. Hume Cook. Sir Joseph Cook. Henry Copeland. Janet Coulter. George Coulthard. Ida Coutts. R.M. Crawford. W.P. Crick. L.F. Crisp. Sir William Cullen. George Silas Curtis. William Bede Dalley. Sir Frederick Darley. Sir (Thomas) Edgeworth David. G.C. Davies. Alfred Deakin. Vera Deakin (later White). Thomas, Third Baron Denman. Sir George Richard Dibbs. Sir Thomas Dibbs. Brian Dickey (quoted). Sir James Robert Dickson. Sir Charles Dilke. Edward Dowling. Sir John Downer. James George Drake (quoted). Sir Robert Duff. Sir Frank Garvan Duffy. East Sydney electorate. Elections, federal: 1901, 1903, 1917. Federation. Sir John Forrest. Free Trade Party: Commonwealth, New South Wales. Sir Philip Oakley Fysh. Andrew Garran. Patrick McMahon Glynn. Sir Samuel Walker Griffith. Henry Bournes Higgins. High Court. John, Seventh Earl Hopetoun (later Marquis of Linlithgow). William Morris Hughes. Atlee Hunt. Industrial arbitration and conciliation. Interstate Commission. Sir Isaac Isaacs. Japan. Sir Patrick Jennings, premier. ‘Kanaka’ labour trade. Charles Cameron Kingston. Sir Adrian Knox. Labor Party. Land registration (NSW). Legislative Assembly, Council (NSW). Sir William John Lyne. Sir Norman Maclaurin. Sir William McMillan. James McSharry. Sir William Manning. David Maughan. Cardinal Patrick Moran. Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson. National Australasian Convention, 1891, 1897. Naval policy. New Zealand and federation. John Norton. Richard Edward O’Connor. ‘One-man-one-vote’. Pacific region in foreign policy. Sir Henry Parkes. Parkes-Robertson coalition. Petty’s Hotel, Sydney. A.B. Piddington. Premiers conferences: 1895, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903. Privy Council. Protectionist Party. Queensland. Referenda: on conscription, on federation. Sir George Houston Reid. Sir Arthur Renwick. Sir John Robertson. Archibald, Fifth Earl Rosebery. Senate (Commonwealth). South African (Boer) War. South Australia. Strikes. Sudan campaign. Sydney Town Hall. Sir Josiah Symon. Tariff protection. Tariffs. Adolphus George Taylor. Hallam, Second Baron Tennyson. Sir George Turner. University of Sydney. J.T. Walker. J.H. ‘Jack’ Want. Sir Samuel Way. Western Australia. White Australia Policy. Bernhard Ringrose Wise. Women’s suffrage.