William Forgan Smith (15 April 188725 September 1953) was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of the state of Queensland from 1932 to 1942. He came to dominate politics in the state during the 1930s, and his populism, firm leadership, defence of states' rights and interest in state development make him something of an archetypal Queensland Premier. He represented the Labor Party.
Early life
Forgan Smith was born at Mynefield House, near Invergowrie, Perthshire, Scotland. His father was George Smith, the chief gardener at Airlie Castle. His mother was Mary, née Forgan. Forgan Smith was one of their seven children. He attended local schools before finishing at Dunoon Grammar School.
After his schooling, Forgan Smith apprenticed himself to a painter and decorator in Glasgow. He took an early interest in politics, joined the Scottish Labour Party, probably influenced by his observations of the poor conditions in the Clydeside shipyards and other working-class areas in Glasgow.
Early political career in Queensland
Forgan Smith emigrated to Queensland in 1912 hoping its warm climate would relieve a chronic bronchial condition. He was sponsored by a cousin in Mackay, where he settled, worked as a painter and decorator, and married a local farmer's daughter, Euphemia (Effie) Margaret Wilson (15 January 1913-12 October 1958).
Forgan Smith became involved in trade unionism and Queenland Labor politics. Mackay was then the centre of the sugar industry in Queensland and sugar remained a major priority for Forgan Smith throughout his career. Despite the fact that he was only 28 and had been in Queensland only three years, he was pre-selected to run for the seat of Mackay in the 1915 election as the Labor candidate. The election saw a decisive victory for Labor under T. J. Ryan, and Forgan Smith won the seat and entered Parliament.
Despite his youth and inexperience, it did not take Forgan Smith too long to adjust. When Prime Minister Hughes called for conscription to be introduced, Forgan Smith joined Premier Ryan in opposing it. This gave him recognition in the Queensland Labor Party, but made him a lifelong enemy in Hughes. Hughes misnamed him as "Hogan Smith, an Irishman from Glasgow" and accused him of speaking "Gaelic treason".
Forgan Smith read heavily on Parliamentary procedure; his knowledge meant he was made a temporary Chairman of Committees in 1917, a position which became permanent in 1920. Soon after, he entered Cabinet as a Minister without portfolio assisting the Premier. Both roles gave him ample opportunity to build a profile in Parliament and the party. In 1922 he became Minister for Public Works, where he administered a new system of unemployment relief and earned the respect of the Unions. In 1923 he was elected to the Queensland Central Executive of the Labor Party, a position which gave him considerable power. In 1925 he became Minister for Agriculture and Stock under Premier Gillies. By the end of 1925 he was Deputy Premier after only ten years in Parliament.
Queensland Labor suffered a surprising election loss in 1929, and Forgan Smith was elected leader of the party unopposed. As the Great Depression deepened, Forgan Smith knew that he had a good chance of victory in the next election. He concentrated on keeping his party held together, while trying to prevent the pro-Lang faction from gaining influence. He concentrated his criticism of the government of A. E. Moore on its decision to closely follow the Premiers' Plan, which Forgan Smith believed to be only making the depression worse.
Premiership of Queensland
Forgan Smith campaigned furiously in the lead-up to the 1932 election, travelling broadly around the state. He was rewarded when he came into government, as Premier of Queenslnd with a seven-seat majority.
Not content with the premiership, he also served as treasurer. Caucus elected a cabinet of generally moderate members – the radicalism of the Ryan Government had largely gone from the Queensland ALP by this time.
Forgan Smith's immediate challenge was dealing with the problem of how to respond to the Great Depression: in particular, the need to reduce unemployment. Notwithstanding his earlier rebukes of Moore's administration, he followed (as Moore had done) the principles of the Premiers' Plan, while simultaneously insisting that the federal government meet its contractual obligations. Determined to bring jobless figures in Queensland down, he moved to implement something akin to the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, although his term of office predated Roosevelt's presidency by some nine months. Like Roosevelt, he owed much to the economic theory of John Maynard Keynes.