George Godfrey Becker 1877-1941
By Kathy Duncombe
TFHS Inc. Member No. 2012
George Becker was a colourful character in the Tasmanian State political arena around the time of the First World War and prior to the Second World War. A socialist by persuasion and a member of the Labor Party for many years, he held Ministerial rank in the Ogilvie Government, and at one time held the balance of power in the State Parliament.
The genesis of the Becker family in Tasmania was the immigration of his grandparents, Gottfried Becker and Katherina Wolf, who arrived in Tasmania on the America 1855 with their four sons, Phillip (12) Balthasar (Joseph, 10) August (8) and Gottfried (6).1They had a daughter Mary Phillipina shortly after their arrival.2 On their arrival to Tasmania in 1855 Gottfried Becker (George's grandfather) and family were snapped up gratefully by Michael Steel to swell his band of tenant farmers on 'Thomas Villa', Falmouth.3 North-east Tasmania remained the home of the Becker family for many years.
George's father, August Becker, married Elizabeth Woodberry (the daughter of John Woodberry (convict) and Harriet Bonner) in 1874 and they leased and farmed 'Oakwood' at Bagdad from 1874-c. 1879. George Godfrey Becker was born on 26 July 1877 at 'Oakwood', the third child of August and Elizabeth. The family moved from 'Oakwood' to Falmouth on the northeast coast of Tasmania, to take up August's father Gottfried's ten year lease of Thomas Villa in approximately 1879. Elizabeth Becker died in 1880 after the birth of her sixth child, and in 1882 August took over his father-in-law, John Woodberry's tenancy of Glencoe.3
George Godfrey Becker began his education at the State school at Falmouth, later attending Hutchins school in Hobart as a full time boarder-an expensive outlay for his father.4 His father August, not only leased agricultural land and a dairy farm - Glencoe 25,560 acres, but also had a cattle run of 449 acres of Crown land in Kendall, and had a large family to provide for. He was struggling with financial difficulties. He did his best but never managed to unite ambition with productivity and was reputed to be always behind with the rent..5 In 1885 August married Margaret Bedgegood and they had five children.2 He continued to lease Glencoe until 1899.
August had purchased fifty acres of land at Diana's Basin in 1885, close to the coach road with Traveller's Creek running through the property. It would appear that George lived at Diana's Basin with his family from approximately 1899 (aged 12) before moving on to Pyengana. By 1905 George's father, August, was a cheese maker at Pyengana, and as a young man George worked on his father's farm, Blandfordia'/em> stirring the curds and whey, in big vats.6 The cheese factory was situated at the side of the house, with a creek running along the back.
George married Eva Rose Oxbrow, the daughter of Henry Oxbrow and Sarah Grigg (nee Slater) on 4 September 1907.span class="fn">7 His father gave him a farm near St Columba Falls which he named Bonsardt. It was a Dairy farm and milking was done by hand in those days, thus labour intensive.
A recorded snippet of history from 1908:8
Quite an event savory of the bush life was the unfortunate occasion of Mrs. Beechey losing herself in the bush between the Powers and The Falls. Leaving home in search of her cows on an evening in the month of June, she failed to return. After many days the searchers gave up their hunt believing her to have been drowned in the George's River. The weather was typical of the season, with frosts and rain intervening. After nine days and nights of exposure she made her way out upon the Pyengana Mathinna Road where she was met by Mr. George Becker, who was then living at the Falls. She was badly frost bitten and suffering from starvation and exposure, with her clothes in a most dilapidated state.
George and Eva had five children-Thelma (1908-1986) Gladys (1909-1993) Dorothy (1912-1936) died of complications of childbirth, Greta (1913-1915) died of whooping cough and Reginald (1916-1984). George was a great family man, a good husband and father, humane and fair, genial and conscientious in his work, a keen rifle shooter and loved to relax with the family and a brandy after dinner at night.
He was a popular figure, both with his own party and his political opponents on account of his genial good nature and fair mindedness, he was fair and courteous in debate. A forceful speaker and his arguments carried more conviction because of the entire absence of any bitterness towards opponents.9
George stood for Parliament when he was 35 years of age (c. 1912) and was elected. He was the youngest member to have done so, and the family moved to Mathinna c. 1914 because of the distance to travel to get a train to Hobart for Parliament.10 In those days if you were in politics, it was one man one job, so he handed his farm over to his two step-brothers, Harold and Richard, to run for a few years. They borrowed from the bank to buy sheep etc. The bank foreclosed on them and took the farm, so George Godfrey Becker lost his farm. George used to motor cycle from Mathinna to Fingal to catch the train to Hobart. He would run the bike down to Mr Wilson's shop, get it started and hop onto it.11
Becker family c.1926: Rear-Dorothy,Thelma and Gladys. Front-George, Reginald and Eva
Returning one evening it was noted:
At 6.50 p.m. the constable saw G. G. Becker ride a motor cycle in High Street, Mathinna without a light.
He was 'cautioned.12. He became sick of the travelling so, in 1921, he moved the house (literally) from Mathinna to Fingal.
Robert Jordan one morning lit a fire in the railway office, but it refused to bum, so he went into the lamp room to get some kerosene. He picked up a four gallon can which seemed to have kerosene in it and taking it into the office, threw some onto the smouldering wood. There was an explosion and a flash and poor Jordan was knocked down. The can was ripped from his hands and he lost most of his hair, moustache and eyebrows along with receiving severe bums. Telephones were put out of order and windows were blown out. The can was found at the foot of the bank on the opposite side of the yard a good hundred feet from the office. It appeared that the can contained Benzine and had been placed there by the late George Becker MHA who would travel to and from Mathinna to Fingal on a motor cycle, which he left in the storeroom, while he attended Parliament in Hobart.13
BBeing of German descent, it was not easy being a politician during the First World War. There were a significant number of families of German descent living in Tasmania in 1914. A few days after the outbreak of the war, all German subjects were called upon to report themselves to police stations. All enemy subjects deemed to be eligible for military service were interned in a concentration camp at Claremont, later to be stationed at Bruny Island. Naturalised citizens (the Beckers) were exempted from official incarceration, but they were soon to be victims of more hurtful public attack.
The Mercury promoted the idea that the Labor cause identified with, and was identical to, the enemy. 'Labor rule or German rule it is all a matter of degree'. This alignment, unsought and embarrassing to Labor was underlined by disclosures about the Labor MHA, G. G. Becker's German parentage.
There was a campaign to smear him during the 1916 State election. For having German born parents, Becker was labelled a 'half bred German.' Later in 1918 'Herr' Becker was challenged to a fist fight in the lobby of the House of Assemblyspan class="fn">.14
George G. Becker served as a Member of the House of Assembly for a period of 26 years. He was first elected as a Member for Bass (aged 35 years in 1912) and with one break of three years (1931-34) he served continuously as a member. He was Chairman of Committees from 1914-1916 during the term of office of the first Labor Government, and, when Labor was successful at the 1925 elections, he was appointed Honorary Minister in the Lyons Ministry. Later he became Attorney General and Minister for Education.15 He was President of the Tasmanian Labor Party in 1924.
Though chiefly interested in matters affecting country districts, he took a keen interest in Local Government matters, and was for a time a Councillor of the Fingal Municipality (1925-31). He was chairman of the Main Roads Maintenance Board for some years. During this time the first bitumen was laid down in the State.
During debates, although quite vigorous in expressing his opinions, his speeches were remarkably free from bitterness. During the 1930s there was an expansionary economic policy or 'funny money' programme, based on the Douglas Credit system as followed by Premier Lang in NSW, which later sent that state bankrupt. Joe Lyons was the Labor Premier of Tasmania, and did not support this policy, which had divided the Party in this state.
George Becker was a close friend of Labor Premier Joe Lyons. (There is a photo of George Godfrey Becker sitting in parliament in the Lyons' house at Stanley). When Lyons formed a minority Labor Government in Tasmania in 1923, George criticised Labor's action in taking office as it was not able to implement Labor policies.16
Lyons abandoned the Labor Party in 1931 and turned to the Federal Government, becoming Prime Minister after forming the United Australia Party, which later became the Liberal Party. George was deeply hurt by this move by Lyons.
In the election of 1931 the then Premier, A.G. Ogilvie, a supporter of the Douglas Credit policy, stood against George Godfrey in parliament. He convinced the locals that George would get in anyway, so why not vote for him (Ogilvie) and have two candidates in parliament. Of course George missed out." During this time he and his family ran a mixed grocery shop in Fingal, 1931-1934. At the next election in 1934 George stood for parliament in Wilmot as an 'Independent Labor' candidate, and was re-elected.
George Becker was a Conservative Labor Party member. The new Premier, Ogilvie, a supporter of the new Credit policy, got the lowest Labor vote of any Premier when he went to an election in 1934. He only retained Government because two Independent candidates agreed to support him. One was a person associated with Douglas Credit and the other was Becker.15
Becker had resigned from the Party (or was expelled)because of his opposition to Ogilvie's economic policies based on Lang and Douglas Credit.17 Following representations from Ogilvie, Becker rejoined the party and held the balance of power. He may have been offered a ministry as reward. He played a crucial part in that election. Without him the Labor Government wouldn't have been re-elected.15 He lived in Fingal until his death on 26 April 1941.
GEORGE GODFREY BECKER MHA
Obituary
Mr. George Godfrey Becker MHA who had been an Honorary Minister in Mr. Cosgrove's Ministry from August 1940 died at his home on the 23rd April 1941. He is buried in the Fingal General Cemetery and leaves a wife and four children. Mr. Becker had a distinguished Parliamentary career, being elected as a member for Bass in 1912.
He was re-elected in 1913, 1916, 1919, 1922, 1925, 1928, 1934 and 1937. When he left the Labor party in 1931, he spent three years out of Parliament, during which time he conducted a store in Fingal. He then stood as an independent candidate for Wilmot and won the seat. He was taken back into the Labor party.
Mr. Becker was Honorary Minister in the Lyons Govt. from 1925 to 1927 and Attorney General and Minister for Education from 1927-1928. He was a Councillor of the Fingal Municipality from 1925-1931, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Works 1927-30, a Warden of the Church of England, Fingal, and a Magistrate for the Territory.
Mr. Becker was President of the Australian Labor Party for some time and was the party's representative at several Federal conferences. Mr. Becker, who was born at Bagdad was the son of the late August and Frances Becker of "Glencoe" Falmouth. He was educated at Hutchins School Hobart. As a young man he was a keen tennis player and footballer. He was President of the North Eastern District Rifle Club Union.
After George's death in 1941, his wife Eva sold the house at Fingal, and went to live with her step-sister Sarah and sister Hester, in Beefeater Street, Deloraine. When she left Deloraine around 1955, she and Hester lived in Mary Street, Launceston. She later lived in St Anne's Rest Home, Hobart, where she died on 11 January 1972.
Researched and written by Kathy Duncombe, assisted by Michael Duncombe, Grandson of George Becker.
1 German Immigrants per America compiled by Pat Harris & Irene Schaffer
2 Tasmanian Pioneers Index
33 Thanks to Providence' by Tim McManus
4 S. C. Bennett -- Sr. Lecturer in Political Science at the Australian National University in 1978 /p>
5 Thanks to Providence' by Tim McManus
6 Electoral Roll and Pyengana a New Country' by Gwen Webb
7 Marriage Certificate
8 • Sunday Examiner-Express 26 April 1975
9 Examiner 24 April 1941
10 1914 Electoral Roll
11 Oral History-daughter Gladys Duncombe [nee Becker] -1991
12 POL 174 Fingal
13 Personalities of the Railway Lines of Tasmania-Chapter 32
14 Tasmanian Year Book 1977 p.22
15 Recollections of research done in the 1960s for an incompleted Thesis by Neil Batt
16 THRA June 1977 Vol. 24 No.2, p.52
17 THRA March 1979 Vol 26, No.1 p.20
This story was originally published in 2001 by the Tasmanian Family History Society Inc in My Most Interesting Ancestor.
The original introduction to this publication may be found here.