Reid, Sir George Houston, 1845 – 1918

Sir George Houston Reid (1845-1918), barrister, Premier of NSW and Prime Minister of Australia, was born at Renfrewshire, Scotland, son of Rev. John Reid and his wife Marion. The family arrived in Australia in 1852, settling first at Melbourne before moving to Sydney in 1858. When he arrived in Sydney at thirteen years of age Reid worked as a junior clerk in a counting house.

In 1864 Reid was appointed to a position in the Colonial Treasury, where he worked for the next 14 years. He joined the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts and attended debates. After studying law Reid was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1879.

Reid was elected a member of the NSW Legislative Assembly for the seats of East Sydney (1880-1884, 1885-1894) and for Sydney-King (1894-1901). He was appointed Minister of Public Instruction (1883-1884), Premier and Colonial Treasurer (1894-1899) and Premier and Attorney-General (1899).

In 1901 Reid stood for the new Federal Parliament and was elected member of the House of Representatives (1901-1910). He was Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for External Affairs (1904-1905).

He was appointed a King's Counsel in 1909. He was appointed as Australia's first High Commissioner to the UK in December 1909, then retired from federal politics to take up this position early in 1910. After completing his term as High Commissioner, Reid was offered a seat in the UK House of Commons. He was elected unopposed to the St George's Hanover Square seat at a by-election on 15 January 1916. He died in London in 1918. [ref:ADB 11]