Born in 1815, Sir Henry Parkes was a famous journalist and politician. He was an ex-chartist and he migrated to Sydney in 1839 and worked as a toymaker, a labourer and a journalist.

He led public protests against re-introduction of convict labour. He established the Empire Newspaper in 1850, which failed financially. He was elected to Legislative Council in 1854. He was a strong democratic & he disagreed with William Wentworth's amended Constitution. He thought it was like a 'squatter's constitution'.

He organised local government bodies, and initiated hospital reforms. He also introduced compulsory free education, & withdrew subsidies to new church schools (1866), withdrawing all state aid to church schools in 1880.

He visited England as Immigration Commissioner in 1861 and was converted to the idea of free trade. He was appointed Colonial secretary (1866) and Premier of New South Wales in 1872; remained a political giant until the final collapse of his government in 1891 which marked the end of his political career.

He was a great advocate of Federation (although his work was marred by personal quarrels with Sir Edmund Barton). In 1880 he called an Intercolonial Conference to discuss Chinese immigration problem and all states (except Western Australia) agreed to impose restrictions. He made an afterdinner speech at Tenterfield in 1889 which was a powerful emotional appeal on behalf of Federation. Later similar speeches throughout N.S.W. resulted in an unsuccessful Federal Conference in Melbourne (1890).

Parkes was president of 1891 National Convention but disapproved draft constitutions. Australian Natives Association at Corowa (1893) adopted his suggestion that a convention be elected to draw up a constitution.

He published 'Fifty Years In The Making Of Australian History' (1892).

He died in1896. He is buried at Faulconbridge (Blue Mountains,N.S.W.).

Resource: "New National Australian Encyclopaedia Volume 2",National Literary Association INC, Sydney,1974