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155-521: Prime Minister of Australia First term of government (1939–1941) Second term of government (1949–1966) Ministries Elections Sir Robert Gordon Menzies (20 December 1894 – 15 May 1978) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th prime minister of Australia from 1939 to 1941 and from 1949 to 1966. He held office as the leader of the United Australia Party (UAP) in his first term, and subsequently as

310-447: A Lieutenancy area . The Lord Lieutenant and a number of Deputy Lieutenants represent the monarch in the county, performing a number of ceremonial functions and arranging and co-ordinating Royal visits. When the county was abolished for local government purposes in 1975 the lieutenancy area was redefined to correspond to the new districts of Eastwood, Inverclyde, and Renfrew. The incumbent Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire since 2019

465-614: A Master of Laws (LL.M.) in 1918. He did, however, fail Latin in his first year. One of his prize-winning essays, The Rule of Law During the War , was published as a brochure with an introduction by Harrison Moore , the law school dean. In 1916, Menzies was elected president of the Student Representatives' Council and editor of the Melbourne University Magazine . He wrote both prose and poetry for

620-449: A barony which lay within the larger shire of Lanarkshire . In 1371, Robert Stewart was crowned King of Scotland following a marriage between his father Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland and Marjorie Bruce , daughter of King Robert I of Scotland . Sometime in the early fifteenth century, probably between 1404 and 1414, the barony of Renfrew was given its own sheriff, making it independent from Lanarkshire. The new shire

775-431: A non-departmental public body accountable to the devolved Scottish Parliament which encourages enterprise and economic development, covers the three modern council areas in the county. Renfrewshire was officially a postal county used for administrative purposes by Royal Mail . Whilst this system has not been used for sorting mail since 1996, Royal Mail still keeps and distributes data relating to postal counties in

930-796: A citizen militia organised for local defence. Troubled by Britain's failure to increase defences at Singapore, Menzies was cautious in committing troops to Europe. In 1940–41, Australian forces played prominent roles in the fighting in the Mediterranean theatre , including Operation Compass , the Siege of Tobruk , the Greek campaign , the Battle of Crete , the Syria-Lebanon campaign and the Second Battle of El Alamein . A special War Cabinet

1085-595: A heavy defeat and Menzies re-entered coalition negotiations with the Country Party. In March 1940, troubled negotiations were concluded with the Country Party to re-enter Coalition with the UAP. The replacement of Earl Page as leader by Archie Cameron allowed Menzies to reach accommodation. A new Coalition ministry was formed including the Country Party's Archie Cameron, Harold Thorby and John McEwen , as well as junior ministers Arthur Fadden and Horace Nock. In Europe,

1240-608: A hero's welcome. However, his support in Parliament was less certain. Not only did some Coalition MPs doubt his popularity in the electorate, but they also believed that a national unity government was the only long-term solution. Menzies's reputation was badly damaged by the failure of the Allied expedition to Greece, in which Australian troops played a prominent role. The Australian Worker newspaper in an editorial on 11 June 1941 attacked Menzies for having "too readily acquiesced in

1395-499: A national unity government, but Labor turned the offer down. With his position now untenable, Menzies resigned the prime ministership on 27 August 1941. A joint UAP-Country Party conference chose Country Party leader Arthur Fadden as Coalition leader—and hence Prime Minister—even though the Country Party was the junior partner in the Coalition. Menzies was bitter about this treatment from his colleagues, and nearly left politics, but

1550-752: A number of Italian capital ships at anchor at the Italian base at Taranto. In December 1940, Menzies sent Churchill a letter expressing concern that the Imperial Japanese Navy might likewise use air power to cripple the Singapore base. In the same letter, Menzies asked Churchill to activate the Singapore strategy by stationing at least three or four capital ships at Singapore. In response, Churchill wrote back to Menzies that to say he would not have capital ships "sitting idle" at Singapore and that to transfer capital ships to Singapore would mean "ruining

1705-485: A number of divisions within counties with varying levels of local government powers. Burghs generally covered urbanised areas with rural parts of a county divided into districts. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 6 . c. 43) defines the division of parts of the county which had pre-existed as: Aside from burghs and parishes, the county was subdivided between a number of higher tiers of local government during certain points in its history. Between

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1860-409: A peace agreement had failed, and that war was now an inevitability. In his Declaration of War broadcast on 3 September 1939, Menzies explained the dramatic turn of events over the past twelve months necessitating this change of course: In those past 12 months, what has happened? in cold-blooded breach of the solemn obligations implied in both the statements I have quoted, Hitler has annexed the whole of

2015-648: A professional soldier, he would never have sent the Australians to Greece. Matters came to a head in August, when the cabinet voted to have Menzies return to London to speak for Australia's interests in the War Cabinet. However, since Labor and the Coalition were level (both sides had 36 MPs), Menzies needed the support of the Labor Party in order to travel to Britain. Amid rumours that Menzies's real intention

2170-419: A radio broadcast to the nation on that same day, which began "Fellow Australians. It is my melancholy duty to inform you officially that in consequence of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her and that, as a result, Australia is also at war." A couple of days after the declaration, Menzies recalled parliament and asked for general support as the government faced

2325-605: A response to the more radical proposals of Labor Party members to deal with the Great Depression. Led by former Labor minister and fiscal conservative Joseph Lyons , the new party swept into office in 1931 against the Australian Labor Party led by James Scullin . Labor had split over the issue of economic policy, with Lang Labor seeking to cease overseas debt repayments. Lyons served seven years as prime minister, overseeing Australia's recovery from

2480-469: A result, Australia is also at war. Australia had entered World War II . Earle Page , as leader of the Country and John Curtin as leader of the Labor Party both pledged support to the declaration of war. Australia was ill-prepared for war. A National Security Act was passed. The recruitment of a volunteer military force for service at home and abroad was announced, the 2nd Australian Imperial Force , and

2635-579: A service record. Furthermore, as attorney-general and deputy prime minister, he had made an official visit to Germany in 1938, when the official policy of the Australian government, supported by the Opposition, was strong support for Neville Chamberlain 's policy of Appeasement . Menzies, then also holding the responsibility for the Department of Munitions created a couple of months earlier, led

2790-468: A sufficiently patriotic contribution to the war effort, and that the family's interests would be served best by Robert continuing his academic career. Another reason for keeping one of the elder sons home was the health of their father, James, who was physically unwell and emotionally unstable at the time. It has been noted that, as a student, Menzies supported the introduction of compulsory overseas conscription , which if implemented would have made him one of

2945-641: A threat from Japan. A war with Germany would require the majority of the Royal Navy's ships to stay within European waters, and an inability to execute the Singapore strategy as planned was widely feared in Canberra to be a strong encouragement for Japan to strike south against Australia. However, Menzies had a strong faith in the ability of Neville Chamberlain to handle the Danzig crisis. Menzies believed that

3100-565: Is Colonel Peter McCarthy. The Renfrewshire lieutenancy operates out of the headquarters of East Renfrewshire Council in Giffnock . The County of Renfrew is a registration county used for land registration under the authority of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979. For this purpose, the county is defined as it existed in 1868 and so includes several areas subsequently annexed to Glasgow. The Renfrewshire registration county

3255-545: Is divided into the constituencies of Paisley and Renfrewshire North and Paisley and Renfrewshire South . Francis Hindes Groome 's Ordnance Gazetteer for Scotland observes that the geography of the county can be seen as "falling into three divisions - hilly, gently rising, and flat". The higher areas are found to the south and west, particularly into the Renfrewshire Hills and to the border with Ayrshire, with large areas of moorland . The land slopes downward to

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3410-728: Is remembered for its development of Australia's capital city of Canberra , its expanded post-war immigration scheme , emphasis on higher education, and national security policies, which saw Australia contribute troops to the Korean War , the Malayan Emergency , the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation , and the Vietnam War . Robert Gordon Menzies was born on 20 December 1894 at his parents' home in Jeparit, Victoria . He

3565-782: Is sometimes known as Greater Renfrewshire to distinguish it from the Renfrewshire council area. The earliest evidence of human activity in the area is traces of an Iron Age fort in the Busby area and a pre-Roman settlement in Overlee. When the Romans advanced in the year 80 from the Solway Firth , the territory that would later become Renfrewshire was occupied by the Damnonii , a British tribe . The principal Roman stronghold in

3720-476: Is traditionally believed that Sir William Wallace , a knight and military leader during the period surrounding the Wars of Scottish Independence , was born in 1272 at Elderslie in the county. The descendants of Walter FitzAlan would eventually form the powerful House of Stuart , with 'Stuart' or 'Stewart' being a corruption of 'Steward'. The Stewarts controlled the territory that would later become Renfrewshire as

3875-680: The Phoney War gave way to a succession of Allied defeats, as Germany overran the Low Countries , Norway and France. By June 1940, the British Empire stood alone against Germany. Menzies called for an 'all in' war effort and with the support of Curtin, amended the National Security Act to extend government powers to tax, acquire property, control businesses and the labour force and allow for conscription of men for

4030-608: The Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) . The new party directed its preferences to the Liberals, with the Menzies government re-elected with an increased majority at the 1955 election . Menzies was re-elected almost as easily at the 1958 election , again with the help of preferences from what had become the Democratic Labor Party . The Menzies era saw immense regional changes, with post-war reconstruction and

4185-616: The Battle of the Standard at Northallerton in 1138 under the command of David I's son, Prince Henry . FitzAlan settled in the area and was granted the lands of Strathgryfe , which provided a basis for the later county, by David I. In 1163 Walter founded, first at Renfrew but shortly afterwards at Paisley , a house of monks of the Cluniac order drawn from the priory of Much Wenlock , in his native county of Shropshire. The monastery steadily grew and by 1219 became Paisley Abbey . It

4340-531: The Czechoslovak state . Has, without flickering an eyelid, made a pact with Russia, a country the denouncing and reviling of which has been his chief stock-in-trade ever since he became chancellor. And has now, under circumstances which I will describe to you, invaded with armed force and in defiance of civilised opinion, the independent nation of Poland . Your own comments on this dreadful history will need no reinforcement by me. All I need say is, that whatever

4495-517: The Empire of Japan , for that country's war against China . In 1939, he resigned from the Cabinet in protest at postponement of the national insurance scheme and insufficient expenditure on defence. With Lyons's sudden death on 7 April 1939, Page became caretaker prime minister until the UAP could elect a new leader. On 18 April 1939, Menzies was elected party leader over three other candidates. He

4650-630: The Great Depression . Defence issues became increasingly dominant in public affairs with the rise of Fascism in Europe and militant Japan in Asia. Lyons negotiated a coalition with the Country Party, led by Earle Page, following the 1934 election, however the parties continued to differ on some questions of economic policy: the Country Party wanted low tariffs and opposed introduction of a national unemployment insurance scheme. On 7 April 1939, with

4805-655: The Melbourne University Rifles (a part-time militia unit) from 1915 to 1919. This unit was not efficient and Menzies noted in his diary that training in even basic skills such as rifle shooting was sub-standard. He was commissioned a second lieutenant on 6 January 1915. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not volunteer for overseas service, something that would later be used against him by political opponents; in 1939 he described it as "a stream of mud through which I have waded at every campaign in which I have participated". Menzies never publicly addressed

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4960-610: The Phoenix Foundry . Seeking a new start, he moved the family to Jeparit to take over the general store, which "survived rather than prospered". During Menzies's childhood, three of his close relatives were elected to parliament. His uncle Hugh was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1902, followed by his father in 1911, while another uncle, Sydney Sampson , was elected to the federal Australian House of Representatives in 1906. Each of

5115-688: The Quarter Sessions and freeholders of the county. The sheriff court also met at Renfrew until 1705, when it was moved to Paisley. By the late 1800s the commissioners met at both Renfrew and Paisley. Elected county councils were established in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 , taking most of the functions of the commissioners (which were eventually abolished in 1930). The three Renfrewshire burghs of Greenock , Paisley , and Port Glasgow were deemed large enough to manage their own affairs and so were excluded from

5270-571: The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 , Renfrewshire was mainly divided into four constituencies . These were the county constituencies of East Renfrewshire and West Renfrewshire ; and the burgh constituencies of Paisley and Greenock . From 1832, Port Glasgow and Renfrew had been part of the Kilmarnock Burghs constituency and remained as such, only being absorbed into West and East Renfrewshire respectively in 1918 with

5425-753: The River Clyde with the River Cart (formed by the White Cart Water and Black Cart Water) and the River Gryffe , all of which eventually flow into the River Clyde , providing drainage to the lower parts of the area. In the west of Renfrewshire can be found a number of small bodies of water such as Loch Thom and the Gryfe Reservoir , with Barr Loch and Castle Semple Loch in the south. A number of smaller hills and lochs are in

5580-515: The Strathclyde region. Further local government reorganisation in 1996 saw the area become the three council areas of East Renfrewshire , Inverclyde , and Renfrewshire . Shires of Scotland traditionally mirrored sheriffdoms with the county's sheriff holding considerable powers. From 1667, Scotland's counties outside the burghs were governed by Commissioners of Supply with powers to raise taxes and administer local government. However

5735-599: The War Cabinet for the duration, which was strongly backed by Sir Maurice Hankey , former WWI Colonel and member of both the WWI and WWII War Cabinets. Writer Gerard Henderson has rejected this theory, but history professors Judith Brett and Joan Beaumont support Day, as does Menzies's daughter, Heather Henderson, who claimed Lady Astor "even offered all her sapphires if he would stay on in England". Menzies came home to

5890-475: The "defence of Australia". Essington Lewis, the head of BHP was appointed Director-General of Munitions Supply to assist with mobilisation of national resources. With the 1940 election looming, Menzies lost his Chief of the General Staff and three loyal ministers in a Royal Australian Airforce crash at Canberra airport. In response, Menzies recalled Harold Holt , a minister who had resigned to join

6045-424: The "really spiritual quality in the willingness of Germans to devote themselves to the service and well-being of the state". Menzies supported British foreign policy, including appeasement, and was initially reticent about the prospect of going to war with Germany. However, by September 1939 the unfolding crisis in Europe changed his public stance that the diplomatic efforts by Chamberlain and other leaders to broker

6200-408: The 1880s and the early 20th century, it is recorded that the county is divided between an 'Upper Ward' consisting of the eastern two-thirds of the county centred on Paisley, and a 'Lower Ward' approximating the boundaries of the modern Inverclyde council area and consisting of the parishes of Inverkip , Greenock , Port Glasgow and Kilmacolm , with Greenock as district centre. In 1973, prior to

6355-475: The 1949 election with 74 House seats and 51.0 percent of the two-party vote but remained in minority in the Senate. Whatever else Menzies's victory represented, his anti-communism and advocacy for free enterprise had captured a new and formidable support base in postwar Australian society. After his election victory, Menzies returned to the office of prime minister on 19 December 1949. The spectre of communism and

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6510-752: The 1980s, following the Third Periodic Review carried out by the Boundary Commission for Scotland , and a number of alterations were made before settling on the present system for the 2005 General Election laid out in the Fifth Periodic Review . Today, two of the three local council areas in the County of Renfrew have a single constituency: East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde , whilst the Renfrewshire council area

6665-605: The Australian army for a European war, preferring to keep it at home to defend Australia. Labor agreed to participate in the Advisory War Council . Menzies sent the bulk of the army to help the British in the Middle East and Singapore, and told Winston Churchill the Royal Navy needed to strengthen its Far Eastern forces. On 11 August 1940, Churchill sent a long letter to Menzies promising that if Japan entered

6820-634: The Australian cabinet, it was felt that Japan would be less likely to enter a war against the British empire because of the German-Soviet agreement, which had come as a most unwanted surprise in Tokyo. In Tokyo, the failure to achieve an alliance with Germany alongside the shock of the German-Soviet non-aggression pact caused the Japanese Prime Minister Baron Hiranuma Kiichirō to submit his resignation to

6975-697: The Canberra conference, the fourteen parties, with the UAP as the nucleus, decided to merge as one new non-Labor party—the Liberal Party of Australia . The organisational structure and constitutional framework of the new party was formulated at the Albury Conference. Officially launched at the Sydney Town Hall on 31 August 1945, the Menzies-led Liberal Party of Australia inherited the UAP's role as senior partner in

7130-432: The Coalition into the 1940 election and suffered an eight-seat swing, losing the slender majority he had inherited from Lyons. The result was a hung parliament , with the Coalition two seats short of a majority. Menzies managed to form a minority government with the support of two independent MPs, Arthur Coles and Alex Wilson . Labor, led by John Curtin , refused Menzies's offer to form a war coalition, and opposed using

7285-414: The Coalition stayed in office for a record 23 years. Renfrewshire (historic) The county borders Glasgow and Lanarkshire to the east and Ayrshire to the south and west. The Firth of Clyde forms its northern boundary, with Dunbartonshire and Argyll on the opposing banks. Renfrewshire's early history is marked by ancient British and Roman settlement. Renfrewshire can trace its origin to

7440-458: The Coalition. Curtin died in office in 1945 and was succeeded by Ben Chifley . The reconfigured Coalition faced its first national test in the 1946 election . It won 26 of 74 seats on 45.9 percent of the two-party vote and remained in minority in the Senate. Despite winning a seven-seat swing, the Coalition failed to make a serious dent in Labor's large majority. Over the next few years, however,

7595-911: The Commerce Agreement with Japan in 1957. This trade agreement was followed by bilateral agreements with Malaya in 1958 and Indonesia in 1959. Throughout his second period in office, Menzies practised classical liberal economics with an emphasis on private enterprise and self-sufficiency in contrast to Labor's 'socialist objective'. Accordingly, the economic policy emphasis of the Menzies government moved towards tax incentives to release productive capacity, boosting export markets, research and undertaking public works to provide power, water and communications. Menzies government (1939%E2%80%931941) Prime Minister of Australia First term of government (1939–1941) Second term of government (1949–1966) Ministries Elections [REDACTED] The Menzies government (1939–1941) refers to

7750-448: The Country Party as prime minister, before the independents switched allegiance. On 3 October, the independents, Coles and Wilson, voted with Labor to defeat the government. John Curtin was sworn in as prime minister on 7 October 1941. Eight weeks later, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor . The UAP disintegrated after suffering a heavy defeat in the 1943 election . Menzies called a conference of conservative parties and other groups opposed to

7905-625: The Country Party back into his government in a full-fledged Coalition, with Page's successor, Archie Cameron, as number-two-man in the government. During the Danzig crisis , Menzies, who had long felt that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh towards Germany, supported having the Free City of Danzig (modern Gdańsk ) rejoin Germany. Though Hitler had only asked for extraterritorial highways across

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8060-407: The Country Party minister for the interior, Thomas Paterson. Menzies had extended discussions with British experts on Germany in 1935, but could not make up his mind whether Adolf Hitler was a "real German patriot" or a "mad swash-buckler". He condemned Nazi antisemitism, in 1933 writing to the organisers of an anti-Nazi protest at the Melbourne Town Hall that "I hope that I may be associated with

8215-450: The County Buildings, a Gothic style constructed in County Square in Paisley c. 1817 and demolished in the 1960-70s. New County Buildings were constructed in 1890 on Paisley's St James's Street in the Classical style and are now used to house Paisley's Sheriff Court . The County Council Chamber is now Court 8 within the building. Whilst no longer used as a local authority area, Renfrewshire remains used for ceremonial purposes as

8370-498: The Danzig dispute. He dismissed the "jitters", as he called it, on the stock market in the summer of 1939 while he spoke of "an outpouring of the sentiments of peace in the minds of the people". Throughout the summer of 1939, Menzies stressed in his speeches that war was "not inevitable" as he urged Australians to enjoy their summer vacations. In the cabinet, Menzies was opposed to expanding the tiny Australian Army beyond its current size of 1, 571 soldiers on economic grounds. The news of

8525-653: The Dardanelles-and he was highly suspicious of another of Churchill's plans for victory in the Mediterranean. On 25 February 1941, Menzies reluctantly gave his approval to send the 6th Division to Greece. Professor David Day , an Australian historian, has posited that Menzies might have replaced Churchill as British prime minister, and that he had some support in the UK for this. Support came from Viscount Astor , Lord Beaverbrook and former WWI Prime Minister David Lloyd George , who were trenchant critics of Churchill's purportedly autocratic style, and favoured replacing him with Menzies, who had some public support for staying on in

8680-462: The Emperor, which was accepted. The possibility that at least for the moment that Japan would stay neutral if the Danzig crisis led to war in Europe encouraged the cabinet in Canberra to stand by Britain. On 3 September 1939 Britain and France declared war on Germany due to its invasion of Poland on 1 September, leading to the start of World War II. Menzies responded immediately by also declaring Australia to be at war in support of Britain, and delivered

8835-470: The House into silence momentarily before both sides of Parliament laughed at Evatt's naivety. This Cold War scare was claimed by some to enable the Menzies government to win the election. The Menzies government won 64 of 121 seats and 49.3 percent of the two-party vote. Evatt accused Menzies of arranging Petrov's defection. The aftermath of the 1954 election caused a split in the Labor Party, with several anti-Communist members from Victoria defecting to form

8990-569: The Labor parties won 36 seats each and the Menzies government was forced to rely upon the support of two independents, Alex Wilson and Arthur Coles, to continue in office. Menzies proposed an all-party unity government to break the impasse, but the Labor Party refused to join. John Curtin agreed instead to take a seat on a newly created Advisory War Council in October 1940. New Country Party leader Arthur Fadden became Treasurer and Menzies unhappily conceded to allow Earle Page back into his ministry. In January 1941, Menzies flew to Britain to discuss

9145-538: The Mediterranean situation. This I am sure you would not want to do unless or until the Japanese danger became far more menacing than at present". In March 1941 and again in August 1941, Menzies appealed to Churchill in letters to activate the Singapore strategy as he wrote that he was highly concerned about Japanese ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region. From 24 January 1941, Menzies spent four months in Britain discussing war strategy with Churchill and other Empire leaders, while his position at home deteriorated. En route to

9300-471: The Menzies government signed the ANZUS treaty in San Francisco on 1 September 1951. Menzies later told parliament that this security pact between Australia, New Zealand and the United States was 'based on the utmost good will, the utmost good faith and unqualified friendship' saying 'each of us will stand by it'. At the same time as strengthening the alliance with the United States, Menzies and Spender were committed to Australia being on 'good neighbour terms' with

9455-446: The Molotov–Ribbentrop pact of 22 August 1939 was greeted with both relief and concern in Menzies's cabinet. It was understood that the German-Soviet nonaggression pact ended the prospect of a "peace front" of Britain, France and the Soviet Union to deter Germany from invading Poland, and that war was more likely than not in Europe. Conversely, the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact had (temporarily as it proved) alienated Japan from Germany, and within

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9610-432: The Pacific – established independent embassies in Tokyo and Washington to receive independent advice about developments. On 3 September 1939, the prime minister, Robert Menzies , made a national radio broadcast: My fellow Australians. It is my melancholy duty to inform you, officially, that, in consequence of the persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland , Great Britain has declared war upon her, and that, as

9765-604: The Parish of Renfrew lying north of the River Clyde (containing Yoker , Scotstoun and Jordanhill ). Following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , Renfrewshire was incorporated into the Strathclyde region and divided amongst three districts : Renfrew District , Eastwood District and Inverclyde District . The Act created a two-tier local government structure, with both districts and regions having elected councils and sharing responsibility for local government. The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 abolished district and regional councils, replacing them with

9920-449: The Polish Corridor to link East Prussia with the rest of the Reich , Menzies also supported having the Polish Corridor returned to Germany. Despite his support for the Germans' claims to Danzig, Menzies was opposed to the prospect of German domination of Europe. Menzies in a speech on 28 March 1939 declared: "I do not accept this doctrine of an unimpeded march by Germany to a territorial conquest of middle and southeastern Europe". Ultimately,

10075-407: The Renfrewshire Education Trust which makes educational-related grants in the county. There is a Renfrewshire Civil Contingencies Service, the first civil contingencies planning body in Scotland to adopt the shared services model of co-operation between local authorities. Central government bodies also use the historic boundaries of the area for some purposes. ' Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire',

10230-438: The Roman occupation of Britain. The name is believed to originate from Common Brittonic / Cumbric , from ren, as in Scottish Gaelic : rinn , or as in Welsh : rhyn (a point or cape of land) and from frew, as in Welsh : fraw , or ffrau (flow of water). This suggests a point of land near the flow of water, such as at the confluence of the Cart and Clyde rivers. It is rendered in Latin : Praefectura Renfroana . The area

10385-475: The Senate rejected his banking bill, he called a double dissolution election . At that election, the Coalition suffered a five-seat swing, winning 69 of 121 seats and 50.7 percent of the two-party vote. However, it won six seats in the Senate, giving it control of both chambers. Later in 1951 Menzies decided to hold a referendum on the question of changing the Constitution to permit the parliament to make laws in respect of Communists and Communism where he said this

10540-400: The September 1940 election, on 13 August 1940, three members of Menzies's cabinet had been killed in an air crash—the Canberra air disaster —along with General Brudenell White , Chief of the General Staff ; two other passengers and four crew. This event weakened Menzies's government. On the night of 11 November 1940, aircraft from the carriers of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean fleet disabled

10695-417: The UAP. His supporters began promoting him as Lyons's natural successor; his critics accused Menzies of wanting to push Lyons out, a charge he denied. In 1938, as part of the Dalfram dispute , he was ridiculed as Pig Iron Bob , the result of an industrial conflict with the Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia whose members had refused to load Australian pig iron being sold to an arms manufacturer in

10850-417: The UK he took the opportunity to stop over to visit Australian troops serving in the North African Campaign . On 20 February 1941, Churchill asked Menzies to give his approval to send the Australian forces in North Africa to Greece. Like many other Australians of his generation, Menzies was haunted by the memory of the Battle of Gallipoli -which came about because of Churchill's plans to send an Allied fleet up

11005-412: The United Kingdom. Following the Act of Union 1707 , which created Great Britain as a sovereign state , Renfrewshire was a county constituency for elections to the House of Commons in Parliament . The town of Renfrew was not included in the county constituency, being a parliamentary burgh , and from 1832 the other burghs of Greenock, Paisley and Port Glasgow were similarly excluded. Following

11160-538: The United States, addressing the Canadian parliament and lobbying President Roosevelt for more arms production. After four months, Menzies returned to Australia to face a lack of enthusiasm for his global travels and a war-time minority government under ever-increasing strain. In Menzies' absence, John Curtin had co-operated with Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Fadden of the Country Party in preparing Australia for

11315-664: The War Cabinet ;– but this time the Labor caucus refused to support the plan. Menzies announced to his Cabinet that he thought he should resign and advise the Governor General to invite John Curtin to form a government. The Cabinet instead insisted he approach Curtin again to form a war cabinet. Unable to secure Curtin's support, and with an unworkable parliamentary majority, Menzies then resigned as prime minister on 29 August 1941. The UAP-Country Party Coalition held office for another month with Arthur Fadden of

11470-535: The abolition of the county council under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , there were five districts in the landward areas of the county. The First District in the west formed part of Inverclyde District; the Second, Third and Fourth Districts in the geographical centre were grouped to form Renfrew District and the Fifth District in the east formed Eastwood District. The county council formerly met in

11625-505: The absence of a UAP deputy, the Governor-General, Lord Gowrie , appointed Country Party leader Earl Page as his temporary replacement, pending the selection of Lyons' successor by the UAP. The Country Party under Earle Page announced that they would refuse to work in coalition under a Menzies-led government. The UAP selected Menzies to succeed Lyons regardless. Robert Menzies was sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia for

11780-579: The administrative area of the county council. Renfrewshire County Council held its first meeting on 22 May 1890 at the County Hall in Paisley, a courthouse which had been built in 1820. The county council was chaired by the convener of the county, a position formerly held by the convener of the Commissioners of Supply. The final Convener of the county to have chaired the Commissioners of Supply

11935-543: The anti-communist atmosphere of the early Cold War began to erode Labor's support. In 1947, Chifley announced that he intended to nationalise Australia's private banks, arousing intense middle-class opposition which Menzies successfully exploited. In addition to campaigning against Chifley's bank nationalization proposal, Menzies successfully led the 'No' case for a referendum by the Chifley government in 1948 to extend commonwealth wartime powers to control rents and prices. In

12090-451: The area and its weaving past to this day. Prior to the 19th century, weaving was largely a cottage industry which took place around the towns and villages of the county. The Industrial Revolution saw the emergence of large-scale mills, with many concentrating in Paisley. In the 1930s, around 28,000 people were employed in the Coats mills in the town. Greenock 's coastal position made

12245-702: The area was at Vanduara ( Paisley ). Following the end of Roman rule in Britain in 410, the Cumbrian Britons, with their capital at Dumbarton , retained a hold on all the territory west of the Lothian — the Kingdom of Strathclyde . During the High Middle Ages, Strathclyde was conquered by the Kingdom of Alba , which in turn developed into the Kingdom of Scotland . In the 12th century, during

12400-589: The army. The Labor Party meanwhile experienced a split along pro and anti Communist lines over policy towards the Soviet Union for its co-operation with Nazi Germany in the invasion of Poland. The Communist Party of Australia (CPA) opposed and sought to disrupt Australia's "imperialist" war effort against Nazism in the early stages of the War. Menzies banned the CPA after the Fall of France in 1940, but by 1941 Stalin

12555-421: The blueprint of his liberal philosophy, The Forgotten People encompassed a wide range of topics including Roosevelt's Four Freedoms, the control of the war, the role of women in war and peace, the future of capitalism, the nature of democracy and especially the role of the middle class, 'the forgotten people' of the title and their importance to Australia's future as a democracy. The addresses frequently emphasised

12710-552: The countries of South and South East Asia. To help forge closer ties in the region, the Menzies government initiated the Colombo Plan that would see almost 40 000 students from the region come to study in Australia over the four subsequent decades. Recognising the economic potential of a burgeoning postwar Japan, Menzies, together with Trade Minister Jack McEwan and his new minister for External Affairs, Richard Casey, negotiated

12865-627: The county an early centre for overseas trade. Shipbuilding on the River Clyde , particularly at Renfrew and Port Glasgow became significant in the later part of the 19th century. These emerged into the Lower Clyde Shipyards. Of the industry, only Ferguson Marine Engineering in Port Glasgow remains today. Many of the county's traditional industries were driven by export strength, with examples such as sugar refining, foundry -work, rope -making, machine-making, mineral work and

13020-623: The county experienced the effects of deindustrialisation . In modern times, many of the settlements in the centre and east of Renfrewshire serve as commuter towns within the Greater Glasgow area. All three local authority in the county are partners in the Glasgow City Region City Deal, an investment scheme part of wider UK City Deals to promote investment and economic growth. In the south-east of Renfrewshire on Eaglesham Moor can be found Whitelee Wind farm,

13175-410: The county is heavily urbanised and forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. The geology of the Renfrewshire is notable for its volcanic origins. The traditional industries of Renfrewshire were noted for their variety and diversity. Weaving and associated trades were common in the county and Paisley became particularly notable for this industry. The Paisley pattern remains a symbol of

13330-432: The county's long weaving heritage. Other industries such as ship building, distilleries and printworks also contributed to the economy. Paisley grew to become the largest urban and commercial centre in the county by some margin. Renfrewshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, and was based in Paisley. Parts of the county, such as Pollokshaws in 1912 and Nitshill in 1926, were incorporated into Glasgow during

13485-579: The crisis should and would be resolved by a Munich-type deal under which the Free City of Danzig would be peacefully allowed to "go home to the Reich " while at the same time Germany should and would be deterred from going to war against Poland. Though Menzies felt that Poland was in the wrong in opposing the return of the Free City to Germany, he did not want to see the crisis end with Poland being subjected to Germany. Several times, Menzies declared that there were "two sides" both equally worthy of consideration to

13640-421: The current unitary council areas which in Renfrewshire were broadly based on the districts created by the 1973 Act. These local government areas are Renfrewshire , formed from Renfrew District excluding Barrhead ; Inverclyde , formed from Inverclyde District and East Renfrewshire formed from Eastwood District plus Barrhead. Before the creation of current single tier local authorities, there were typically

13795-627: The early 1950s and Labor was confident of winning the 1954 election . Menzies engaged in red-baiting of political opponents. Shortly before the election, Menzies announced that a Soviet diplomat in Australia Vladimir Petrov , had defected, and that there was evidence of a Soviet spy ring in Australia, including members of Evatt's staff. Evatt felt compelled to state on the floor of Parliament that he'd personally written to Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov , who assured him there were no Soviet spy rings in Australia, bringing

13950-466: The early 20th century as the city expanded. Renfrewshire was abolished for local government purposes in 1975, being replaced by the Strathclyde region and three lower-tier district councils. These were in turn abolished in 1996, since when the Renfrewshire area has been governed by the three council areas of Renfrewshire , East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde . The name of Renfrewshire derives from its county town, Renfrew , which has been attested since

14105-500: The economy grew and middle-class values prevailed; the Australian Labor Party 's support had also been eroded by Cold War scares. After 1955, his government also received support from the Democratic Labor Party , a breakaway group from the Labor Party. Menzies won seven consecutive elections during his second period, eventually retiring as prime minister in January 1966. Despite the failures of his first administration, his government

14260-499: The election campaign of 1949, Menzies and his party were resolved to stamp out the communist movement and to fight in the interests of free enterprise against what they termed as Labor's 'socialistic measures'. If Menzies won office, he pledged to counter inflation, extend child endowment and end petrol rationing. With the lower house enlarged from 74 to 121 seats, the Menzies Liberal/Country Coalition won

14415-431: The enormous responsibility of leading the nation in war time. Page and Curtin, as party leaders, pledged their support for all that needed to be done for the defence of the country. Thus, Menzies at the age of 44 found himself a wartime leader of a small nation of 7 million people. He was especially worried about the military threat from Japan. Australia had very small forces, and depended on Britain for defence against

14570-485: The expected Pacific War . With the threat of Japan imminent and with the Australian Army suffering badly in the Greek and Crete campaigns, Menzies reorganised his ministry and announced multiple multi-party committees to advise on war and economic policy. Government critics however called for an all-party government. In August, Cabinet decided that Menzies should travel back to Britain to represent Australia in

14725-512: The fear of Japan proved decisive for Menzies, who believed that for Australia to not support Britain in the Danzig crisis would lead to Britain eventually abandoning Australia to face Japan alone. The prospect of war in Europe threatened to undermine the Singapore strategy that called for the main British battle fleet to be sent out to Singapore (the major British naval base in Asia) in the event of

14880-590: The federal Division of Kooyong in the upcoming general election for the United Australia Party (UAP), which was the result of a merger during his tenure as a state parliamentarian of the Nationalists, Labor dissidents and the Australian Party . The previous member, John Latham , had given up the seat in order to prepare for appointment as Chief Justice of Australia . Kooyong was a safely conservative seat based on Kew , and Menzies won easily. He

15035-487: The federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies . Menzies led the United Australia Party in the Australian Parliament from 1939 to 1941. Menzies served a later and longer term as prime minister as leader of a successor party, the Liberal Party of Australia from 1949 to 1966 (see Menzies government (1949–1966) ). The United Australia Party (UAP) was formed in 1931 as

15190-564: The feudal lands at Strathgryfe granted to Walter FitzAlan , the first High Steward of Scotland . Renfrewshire was created as a shire in the early fifteenth century, having previously been part of Lanarkshire. The county was named after its original county town , the royal burgh of Renfrew . During the Industrial Revolution , many of the larger towns became important centres of commerce and manufacturing. The goods produced were chiefly cottons, calicos and silks building on

15345-413: The first time on 26 April 1939, following the death of Joseph Lyons. He led a minority United Australia Party government – Country Party leader Earle Page had temporarily been Prime Minister after the death of Lyons, but he refused to serve in a government led by Menzies, and withdrew the support of the Country Party from coalition with the UAP. In addition to the office of Prime Minister, Menzies

15500-697: The first to be conscripted. Promoted to lieutenant, he resigned his commission with effect from 16 February 1921. After graduating from the University of Melbourne in 1916 with first-class honours in Law, Menzies was admitted to the Victorian Bar and to the High Court of Australia in 1918. Establishing his own practice in Melbourne, Menzies specialised chiefly in constitutional law which he had read with

15655-464: The government of Joseph Lyons . In April 1939, following Lyons's death, Menzies was elected leader of the United Australia Party (UAP) and sworn in as prime minister. He authorised Australia's entry into World War II in September 1939, and spent four months in England to participate in meetings of Churchill's war cabinet . On his return to Australia in August 1941, Menzies found that he had lost

15810-474: The homes of people who are nameless and unadvertised, and who, whatever their individual religious conviction or dogma, see in their children their greatest contribution to the immortality of their race. The home is the foundation of sanity and sobriety; it is the indispensable condition of continuity; its health determines the health of society as a whole. Menzies himself described The Forgotten People collection as 'a summarised political philosophy'. Representing

15965-590: The ill-starred Greek campaign, of which the Cretan misadventure was the inevitable sequel ... As a military adventure, it was madness. As a political gesture, it was stupid because it was doomed to failure." Menzies sought to blame General Sir Thomas Blamey for the Greek expedition as he maintained that he had only given permission to send the Australians to Greece after Blamey did not oppose it. Menzies maintained that if Blamey had given his disapproval in his opinion as

16120-560: The inaugural leader of the Liberal Party of Australia , which he was responsible for establishing and defining in policy and political outreach. He is the longest-serving prime minister in Australian history. Menzies studied law at the University of Melbourne and became one of Melbourne 's leading lawyers. He was Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1932 to 1934, and then transferred to Federal Parliament , subsequently becoming Attorney-General of Australia and Minister for Industry in

16275-477: The inflamed ambitions of the German Führer may be, he will undoubtedly learn, as other great enemies of freedom have learned before, that no empire, no dominion, can be soundly established upon a basis of broken promises or dishonoured agreements. Menzies went on to say that if Hitler's expansionist "policy were allowed to go unchecked there could be no security in Europe and there could be no just peace for

16430-428: The judicial roles of the sheriff continued to overlap with executive government in their shires. In 1794, the first Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire , William McDowall , was appointed when permanent lieutenancies were appointed by Royal Warrant to all the counties of Scotland as the monarch's military representative. Historically Renfrewshire's Commissioners of Supply met at Renfrew , as the county town , along with

16585-654: The largest on-shore wind farm in the United Kingdom. The coat of arms of Renfrewshire was granted to the county council in 1899. The lymphad or galley is taken from the arms of the county town, Renfrew , which once served as an important port on the River Clyde. The shield of arms are those of the Royal House of Stewart , recognising the county as 'cradle of the Stewart Kings'. The blazon of

16740-551: The leading Victorian jurist and future High Court judge, Sir Owen Dixon . In 1920, Menzies was an advocate for the Amalgamated Society of Engineers which eventually took its appeal to the High Court of Australia . The case became a landmark authority for the positive reinterpretation of Commonwealth powers over those of the States. The High Court's verdict raised Menzies's profile as a skilled advocate, and eventually he

16895-488: The looming threat of the Japanese Empire, with its 100 million people, a very powerful Army and Navy and an aggressive foreign policy. He hoped that a policy of appeasement would head off a war with Japan, and repeatedly pressured London. Menzies did his best to rally the country, but the bitter memories of the disillusionment which followed World War I made his task difficult; this was compounded by his lack of

17050-617: The magazine, and also contributed a song about "little Billy Hughes " to an end-of-year revue . Menzies was also president of the Students' Christian Union, a founding member of the Historical Society, and a prominent member of the Law Students' Society. He had "a reputation as an "unusually bright and articulate member of the undergraduate community", and was known as a skilful debater. However, he had also begun to develop

17205-539: The manufacture of chemicals are all noted as significant to the economy of Renfrewshire in the 1880s Gazetteer for Scotland entry, with the central areas for commerce noted as being Greenock and Port Glasgow . Shipping continues in Greenock at the Ocean Terminal docks. Greenock's ports remain active today with shipping from Ocean Terminal docks. During the second half of the 20th century, some parts of

17360-668: The normal enjoyments and camaraderies of a small country town". He began his formal education in 1899 at the Jeparit State School, a single-teacher one-room school . When he was about eleven, he and his sister were sent to Ballarat to live with his paternal grandmother; his two older brothers were already living there. In 1906, Menzies began attending the Humffray Street State School in Bakery Hill . The following year, aged 13, he ranked first in

17515-617: The passage of the Representation of the People Act 1918 . The distribution of seats remained generally stable during Renfrewshire's time as an administrative county. In 1974, the constituency of Greenock was abolished and joined with Port Glasgow to create the constituency of Greenock and Port Glasgow . With counties abolished for local government purposes, more wholesale reform of the constituency system in Scotland occurred in

17670-708: The previous Labor government lost the support of the cross-bench Country Progressives. The following year he shifted to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the member for the Electoral district of Nunawading . In 1929, he founded the Young Nationalists as his party's youth wing and was its first president. Holding the portfolios of Attorney-General and Minister for the Railways, Menzies was Deputy Premier of Victoria from May 1932 until July 1934. In August 1934, Menzies resigned from state parliament to contest

17825-404: The protest of the meeting tonight against the barbaric and medieval persecution to which their fellow Jews in Europe are apparently being subjected". In July 1939, Menzies, by then prime minister, declared in a speech that "history will label Hitler as one of the great men of the century". In August 1938, while Attorney-General, Menzies spent several weeks on an official visit to Nazi Germany . He

17980-401: The reasons for his decision not to enlist, stating only that they were "compelling" and related to his "intimate personal and family affairs". His two older brothers did serve overseas. In a 1972 interview, his brother Frank Menzies recalled that a "family conference" had determined that Robert should not enlist. They believed that having two of the family's three adult sons serving overseas was

18135-756: The reign of David I of Scotland , the Anglo-Norman nobleman Walter FitzAlan fled the English county of Shropshire on account of the conflict between the Empress Matilda and Stephen . Walter rallied to the support of the Empress, but when her cause was lost Walter befriended David I, King of Scots and an uncle of Matilda, and became David's Dapifer or Steward, as the first Lord High Steward of Scotland . Accompanied by his brother Simon, Walter came to Scotland about 1136 and fought for Scotland at

18290-613: The rioting and strikes. In the Second World War , Renfrewshire suffered due to its shipbuilding industries on the banks of the River Clyde . Heavy bombing was inflicted over the 6th and 7 May 1941 in an event referred to as the Greenock Blitz . On 10 May 1941, Rudolf Hess , a leading official in the government of Nazi Germany , parachuted into a field near Eaglesham on a secret mission to meet Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton for peace negotiations, and

18445-549: The ruling Australian Labor Party which met in Canberra on 13 October 1944, and again in Albury in December 1944. The formation of a new party – the Liberal Party of Australia  – was formally announced at Sydney Town Hall on 31 August 1945. After an initial loss to Labor at the 1946 election , Menzies led the Liberals to victory at the 1949 election against the incumbent Labor government led by Ben Chifley , and

18600-478: The second ballot, defeating three other candidates. The UAP also voted to end the joint opposition arrangement with the Country Party, allowing Menzies to replace Fadden as opposition leader. Soon after his return, Menzies concluded that the UAP was at the end of its useful life. Menzies called a conference of anti-Labor parties with meetings in Canberra on 13 October 1944 and again in Albury (NSW) in December 1944. At

18755-473: The south-east in the county, with the Dams to Darnley Country Park separating Newton Mearns and Barrhead with a number of artificially dammed lakes including Balgray Reservoir, Ryat Linn Reservoir and Waulkmill Glen Reservoir. The upper scenery of the county was described in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica as "somewhat wild and bleak" though descending into pastureland around the rivers. The north-east of

18910-540: The state-wide scholarship examinations. This feat financed the entirety of his secondary education, which had to be undertaken at private schools, as Victoria did not yet have a system of public secondary schools. In 1908 and 1909, Menzies attended Grenville College , a small private school in Ballarat Central . He and his family moved to Melbourne in 1910, where he enrolled in Wesley College . Menzies

19065-526: The storm clouds of the Second World War gathering in Europe and the Pacific, Joseph Lyons became the first Prime Minister of Australia to die in office, suffering a heart attack. The UAP's Deputy leader, Robert Menzies, now openly antipathetic to Country Party leader Earle Page, had resigned in March, citing the coalition's failure to implement a plan for national insurance as the cause for his resignation. In

19220-434: The superiority of free enterprise except for certain public utilities such as the railways. His candidacy was nearly defeated when a group of ex-servicemen attacked him in the press for not having enlisted, but he survived this crisis. Within weeks of his entry to parliament, he was made a minister without portfolio in a new minority Nationalist State government led by Premier William McPherson. The new government had formed when

19375-462: The support of his party and consequently resigned as prime minister. He subsequently helped to create the new Liberal Party, and was elected its inaugural leader in August 1945. At the 1949 federal election , Menzies led the Liberal–Country coalition to victory and returned as prime minister. His appeal to the home and family, promoted via reassuring radio talks, matched the national zeitgeist as

19530-522: The threat it was deemed to pose to national security became the dominant preoccupation of the new government in its first phase. Menzies introduced legislation in 1950 to ban the Communist Party, hoping that the Senate would reject it and give him a trigger for a double dissolution election, but Labor let the bill pass. It was subsequently ruled unconstitutional by the High Court . But when

19685-552: The three represented rural constituencies, and were defeated after a few terms. Menzies's maternal grandfather John Sampson was active in the trade union movement. He was the inaugural president of the Creswick Miners' Association, which he co-founded with future Australian Labor Party MP William Spence , and was later prominent in the Amalgamated Miners' Association. Growing up, Menzies and his siblings "had

19840-453: The traits of pomposity and arrogance that would cause difficulties later in his career. His fellow law student and future parliamentary colleague Percy Joske noted Menzies as a student "did not suffer fools gladly [...] the trouble was that his opponents frequently were not fools and that he tended to say things that were not only cutting and unkind but that were unjustified". During World War I, Menzies served his compulsory militia service in

19995-439: The values which Menzies regarded as critical to shaping Australia's wartime and postwar policies. These were essentially the principles of liberalism: individual freedom, personal and community responsibility, the rule of law, parliamentary government, economic prosperity and progress based on private enterprise and reward for effort. After losing the UAP leadership, Menzies moved to the backbench. Besides his overall sense of duty,

20150-431: The war would have made it nearly impossible for him to return to his legal practice in any event. Labor won a crushing victory at the 1943 election , taking 49 of 74 seats and 58.2 percent of the two-party-preferred vote as well as a Senate majority. The Coalition, which had sunk into near-paralysis in opposition, was knocked down to only 19 seats. Hughes resigned as UAP leader, and Menzies was elected as his successor on

20305-522: The war, Britain would activate the Singapore strategy by sending a strong Royal Navy force to Singapore. Menzies continued to be worried about the fact that the Singapore base-despite being billed as the "Gibraltar of the East" was a base, not the fortress that it was presented as; about the shoddy state of the fortifications at Singapore; and about the lack of details in Churchill's promises. Just before

20460-417: The weakness of Singapore's defences and sat with Winston Churchill 's British War Cabinet . En route he inspected Singapore's defences – finding them alarmingly inadequate – and visited Australian troops in the field Mid-East. Menzies was well received by the British press. He at times clashed with Churchill in the War Cabinet, and sought assurances for Australian involvement in the Greek campaign. He

20615-617: The withdrawal of European Powers and the British Empire from the Far East (including independence for India and Indonesia). In response to these geopolitical developments, the Menzies government maintained strong ties with Australia's traditional allies such as Britain and the United States while also reorienting Australia's foreign policy focus towards the Asia Pacific. With his first Minister for External Affairs, Percy Spender,

20770-438: The world". However, in a letter written by Menzies on 11 September 1939, he privately urged for peace negotiations and the continuation of appeasement with Hitler. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, animosity developed between Sir Earle Page and Menzies which was aggravated when Page became Acting Prime Minister during Lyons's illness after October 1938. Menzies and Page attacked each other publicly. He later became deputy leader of

20925-487: Was "not very interested in and certainly incompetent at sport", but excelled academically. In his third and final year at Wesley he won a £40 exhibition for university study, one of 25 awarded by the state government. In 1913, Menzies entered the Melbourne Law School . He won a variety of prizes, exhibitions, and scholarships during his time as a student, graduating as a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1916 and

21080-549: Was 79 years old at the time. During his time in the political wilderness Menzies built up a large popular base of support by his frequent appeals, often by radio, to ordinary non-elite working citizens whom he called 'the Forgotten People'—especially those who were not suburban and rich or members of organised labour. From November 1941, he began a series of weekly radio broadcasts reaching audiences across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. A selection of these talks

21235-613: Was Treasurer. The First Menzies Ministry included the ageing former Prime Minister Billy Hughes and the young future Prime Minister Harold Holt . Menzies tried and failed to have the issue of national insurance examined by a committee of parliamentarians. Though no longer in formal coalition, his government survived because the Country Party preferred a UAP government to that of a Labor government. The growing threat of war dominated politics through 1939. Menzies supported British policy against Hitler's Germany (negotiate for peace, but prepare for war) and – fearing Japanese intentions in

21390-406: Was West Renfrewshire's Member of Parliament Archibald Campbell MP . Further local government reform in 1930 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 brought Greenock, Paisley, and Port Glasgow under the control of the county council. During this time, several parts of eastern Renfrewshire were transferred into the growing city of Glasgow, including Cathcart , parts of Govan , and parts of

21545-550: Was appointed a King's Counsel in 1929. In 1928, Menzies entered state parliament as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from East Yarra Province , representing the Nationalist Party of Australia . He stood for constitutional democracy, the rule of law, the sanctity of contracts and the jealous preservation of existing institutions. Suspicious of the Labor Party, Menzies stressed

21700-448: Was born in Renfrewshire , Scotland, and arrived in Melbourne in 1854. The following year he married Elizabeth Band, the daughter of a cobbler from Fife . Menzies was proud of his Scottish heritage, and preferred his surname to be pronounced in the traditional Scottish manner ( / ˈ m ɪ ŋ ɪ s / MING -iss ) rather than as it is spelled ( / ˈ m ɛ n z i z / MEN -zeez ). This gave rise to his nickname "Ming", which

21855-408: Was created after war was declared – initially composed of Prime Minister Menzies and five senior ministers ( RG Casey , GA Street, Senator McLeay, HS Gullet and World War I Prime Minister Billy Hughes ). In January 1940, Menzies dispatched potential leadership rival Richard Casey to Washington as Australia's first "Minister to the United States". In a consequent by-election, the UAP suffered

22010-405: Was edited into a book bearing the title of his most famous address, The Forgotten People , delivered on 22 May 1942. In this landmark address, Menzies appealed to his support base: I do not believe that the real life of this nation is to be found either in great luxury hotels and the petty gossip of so-called fashionable suburbs, or in the officialdom of the organised masses. It is to be found in

22165-524: Was forced to join the Allied cause when Hitler reneged on the Pact and invaded the USSR. The USSR came to bear the brunt of the carnage of Hitler's war machine and the Communist Party in Australia lost its early war stigma as a result. In Menzies' later term of office, anti-communism became an important plank of his foreign policy. Labor narrowly lost the September 1940 Election. The UAP–Country Party coalition and

22320-528: Was immediately appointed Attorney-General of Australia and Minister for Industry in the Lyons government . In 1937 he was appointed a Privy Counsellor . In late 1934 and early 1935 Menzies, then attorney-general, unsuccessfully prosecuted the government's highly controversial case for the attempted exclusion from Australia of Egon Kisch , a Czech Jewish communist. The initial prohibition on Kisch's entry to Australia, however, had not been imposed by Menzies but by

22475-488: Was instead arrested by a farmhand with a pitchfork and imprisoned. It is believed Hess was privately distressed by the war with the United Kingdom as he had hoped that Britain would accept Germany as an ally. Hess may have hoped to score a diplomatic victory by sealing a peace between the German Reich and British Empire . The county was abolished for local government purposes in 1975, becoming three districts within

22630-409: Was later expanded to " Ming the Merciless " after the comic strip character. His middle name was given in honour of Charles George Gordon . The Menzies family had moved to Jeparit, a small Wimmera township, in the year before Robert's birth. At the 1891 census, the settlement had a population of just 55 people. His elder siblings had been born in Ballarat, where his father was a locomotive painter at

22785-435: Was named after the town of Renfrew , the site of Renfrew Castle , which was the seat of the Stewarts. From this point onwards, the county has been closely tied to the monarchy and the heir apparent to the British monarch holds the title of Baron of Renfrew as well as High Steward of Scotland. Renfrewshire was significantly involved in the Radical War of 1820, with many of the local industrial workers participating in

22940-436: Was necessary for the security of the Commonwealth. If passed, this would have given a government the power to introduce a bill proposing to ban the Communist Party. Chifley died a few months after the 1951 election. The new Labor leader, H. V. Evatt , campaigned against the referendum on civil liberties grounds, and it was narrowly defeated. Menzies sent Australian troops to the Korean War . Economic conditions deteriorated in

23095-418: Was persuaded to become Minister for Defence Co-ordination in Fadden's cabinet. The Fadden government lasted only 40 days before being defeated on a confidence motion. On 9 October 1941, Menzies resigned as leader of the UAP after failing to convince his colleagues that he should become Leader of the Opposition in preference to Fadden. He was replaced as UAP leader by former prime minister Billy Hughes , who

23250-481: Was strongly committed to democracy for the British peoples, but he initially thought that the Germans should take care of their own affairs. He strongly supported the appeasement policies of the Chamberlain government in London, and sincerely believed that war could and should be avoided at all costs. after the visit to Germany in 1938, Menzies wrote that the "abandonment by the Germans of individual liberty ... has something rather magnificent about it". Menzies also praised

23405-401: Was sworn in as prime minister eight days later. A crisis arose almost immediately, however, when Page refused to serve under him. In an extraordinary personal attack in the House, Page accused Menzies of cowardice for not having enlisted in the War, and of treachery to Lyons. Menzies then formed a minority government. When Page was deposed as Country Party leader a few months later, Menzies took

23560-482: Was the first to introduce the new Land Register of Scotland on the 6 April 1981. For a number of purposes, the three modern local councils in the county co-operate on a number of matters. Renfrewshire is retained as a Joint Valuation Board area, which values properties for the purposes of council tax and non-domestic rates , and is also used for electoral registration . Councillors from the three local councils also join, in association with other local groups, to form

23715-511: Was the fourth of five children born to Kate ( née Sampson) and James Menzies ; he had two elder brothers, an elder sister Isabel , and a younger brother. Menzies was the first Australian prime minister to have two Australian-born parents: his father was born in Ballarat and his mother in Creswick . His grandparents on both sides had been drawn to Australia by the Victorian gold rush . His maternal grandparents were born in Penzance , Cornwall . His paternal grandfather, also named Robert Menzies,

23870-478: Was to launch a political career in Britain, Labor insisted that the crisis was too dire for Menzies to leave the country. With Labor unwilling to support him travelling to London and his position within his own party room weakening, Menzies called an emergency cabinet meeting. He announced his intention to resign and advise the Governor-General , Lord Gowrie to commission Curtin as prime minister. The Cabinet instead urged Menzies to make another overture to Labor for

24025-464: Was unable to achieve significant assurances for increased commitment to Singapore's defences, but undertook morale boosting excursions to war-affected cities and factories. He spent eight successive weekend at Chequers with Churchill, addressed Parliament, stayed with the King, visited Dublin to lobby Ireland to join the war effort and generally raised awareness in Britain of Australia's contribution to its war effort. He returned to Australia via Canada and

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