Democratic Adventurer: Graham Berry and the Making of Australian Politics

- Blurb -

Graham Berry (1822-1904) was colonial Australia' s most gifted, creative and controversial politician. A riveting speaker, a newspaper proprietor and editor, and the founder of Australia' s first mass political party, he wielded these tools to launch an age of reform: spearheading the adoption of a ' protectionist' economic policy, the payment of parliamentarians, and the taxing of large landowners. He also sought the reform of the Constitution, precipitating a crisis that the London Times likened to a ' revolution' . This book recovers Berry' s forgotten and fascinting life. It explores his drives and aspirations, the scandals and defeats that nearly derailed his career, and his remarkable rise from linen-draper and grocer to adored popular leader. It establishes his formative influence on later Australian politics. And it also uses bErry' s life to reflect on the possibilities and constraints of democractic politics, hoping thereby to enrich the contemporary political imagination.