John Verran | |
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26th Premier of South Australia Elections: 1910, 1912 |
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In office 3 June 1910 – 17 February 1912 |
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Monarch | George V |
Governor | Sir Day Bosanquet |
Preceded by | Archibald Peake |
Succeeded by | Archibald Peake |
14th Leader of the Opposition (SA) | |
In office 1909–1910 |
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Preceded by | Richard Butler |
Succeeded by | Archibald Peake |
In office 1912–1913 |
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Preceded by | Archibald Peake |
Succeeded by | Crawford Vaughan |
4th United Labor Party leader | |
In office 1909–1913 |
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Preceded by | Thomas Price |
Succeeded by | Crawford Vaughan |
Senator for South Australia | |
In office 30 August 1927 – 16 November 1928 |
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Preceded by | Charles McHugh |
Personal details | |
Born |
Gwennap, Cornwall |
9 July 1856
Died | 7 June 1932 | (aged 75)
Political party |
United Labor Party (1901–17) National Labor (1917–18) |
Spouse(s) | Catherine (nee Trembath) |
Children | 8 |
Religion | Primitive Methodist |
John Verran (9 July 1856 – 7 June 1932) was the 26th Premier of South Australia from 1910 to 1912 and a senator for South Australia from August 1927 to November 1928, representing the South Australian United Labor Party. The 1910 state election saw Labor form a majority government, the first time a party had done so in South Australia. He was a resident of Moonta, and was member for the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Wallaroo from 1901 to 1918. As premier, Verran helped to improve conditions for Aborigines while also making efforts to make home ownership more possible for the underprivileged.
Verran was born at Gwennap, Cornwall in UK, on 9 July 1856 and when only three months old was taken by his parents to Australia. The family lived at Kapunda, South Australia, until he was eight, and then moved to Moonta where copper had been discovered in 1861. Verran received very little education and before he was 10 years old was working at the copper-mines as a pickey-boy, whose job it was to sort the ore above ground. He attended a night school some years later. Verran learned to read with encouragement from the ministers of the Primitive Methodist church at Moonta. When 18 he went to the Queensland gold-mines but soon returned to Moonta, where he worked as a miner for nearly 40 years. He was elected president of the Moonta miners' association (the Amalgamated Miners' Association) and held this office from 1895 to 1913. Verran was an active member and local preacher in the Primitive Methodist church, and later recognised this influence with the comment "I am an M.P., because I am a P.M."