'The decades immediately preceding and following Federation were the formative years of Australian politics. This biography tells the story of that period of transition through the life of one of its central protagonists. Sir Joseph Carruthers had a distinguished and eventful career as Premier, a Father of Federation and a Member of the New South Wales Parliament for forty-five years. His greatest legacy is the adaptation of nineteenth-century classical liberalism to the politics of Australia’s nascent party system. It is in large part because of Carruthers, and his great friend George Reid, that liberalism in Australia came to be associated with the centre-right.' (Publication Summary)
'Which politician of pre‐1914 New South Wales most merits a Life? Not, to the author under review, any of its looming figures which remain without a biography; not the five‐time Premier, John Robertson; nor the brilliant poseur B.R. Wise; nor the menacing silhouette of William Crick. Instead, Gorman’s subject is Joseph Carruthers (1856‐1932); cricketer, sometime author on Captain Cook, premier from 1904 to 1907, and effective founder of Australia’s twentieth century Liberal Party.' (Introduction)
'Which politician of pre‐1914 New South Wales most merits a Life? Not, to the author under review, any of its looming figures which remain without a biography; not the five‐time Premier, John Robertson; nor the brilliant poseur B.R. Wise; nor the menacing silhouette of William Crick. Instead, Gorman’s subject is Joseph Carruthers (1856‐1932); cricketer, sometime author on Captain Cook, premier from 1904 to 1907, and effective founder of Australia’s twentieth century Liberal Party.' (Introduction)
