LATE ANDREW FISHER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 26 October 1928, Page 5

LATE ANDREW FISHER

A GREAT IMPERIALIST

(British Official Wireless)

RUGBY, 23rd October

By the death in London of Mr Andrew Fisher, former Prime Minister of Australia, the British Empire has lost a notable figure. Mr Fisher was at once a great Labour leader and a great Im perialist. His phrase during the war: "Australia is in the war to the last man and the last shilling," was indicative of that Imperialism. Mr Fisher had a meteoric rise to fame. He was born at Kilmarnock, in Scotland, and began life as call boy in the local mines. At the age of 23 he emigrated to Queensland. Within eight years he entered the Queensland Parliament, and soon became Minister of Railways. Then ho sat in the Commonwealth, Parliament, and in 1904 was appointed Minister for Trade and Customs. From 1907 to 1915 he was Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Labour Party. Three times he was Prime Minister of Australia, his last period of office being 1914 to 1915. He founded the Commonwealth Bank, was'pioneer of the building of the Transcontinental, Railway that linked Eastern and Western Australia, and he also began the building of the Federal Capital. It was through Mr Fisher's efforts that the system of national defence which bore vahiablo fruits in the war was adopted by Australia.