Billy Hughes egg-throwing incident

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Egg Throwing Incident
Who threw that egg%3F.jpg
"Who Threw That Egg?", a 1917 cartoon making reference to the incident.
Date29 November 1917
Location
Warwick, Queensland
Caused byConscription
Methods Egging; Civil disobedience

On 29 November 1917, an egg was thrown at the Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes at the Warwick railway station, Queensland, during his campaign for the 1917 plebiscite on conscription. The egg was thrown by Patrick Michael Brosnan, possibly assisted by his brother Bartie Brosnan. [1]

Contents

Background

Pressured by British leaders for increased Australian participation in the war effort, Labor Prime Minister Billy Hughes announced his intention to hold a national referendum on compulsory military conscription in October 1916. After a particularly bitter campaign, a majority of Australians voted against the proposal, the issue splitting the Federal Labor Party. After joining with the conservative Opposition to form a nationalist government in February 1917, Hughes resolved to hold a second conscription referendum the following December. [2]

The campaign was just as volatile as the first, and with the Queensland Government under Premier T.J. Ryan strongly anti-conscription, Hughes decided to tour southern Queensland in a bid to whip up support for his cause. [2]

Warwick speech

Information board about the incident, 2015 Information board about the Warwick Egg Throwing Incident, 2015.JPG
Information board about the incident, 2015

On 29 November 1917, Hughes attempted to give a speech to the people of Warwick at the local railway station. While Hughes spoke, an egg was hurled from the crowd and hit him on the head, knocking off his hat. Enraged, Hughes lunged into the crowd, reaching into his coat for a revolver but discovered it had been left in the railway carriage. [3] Hughes demanded local police arrest the culprit for breaking Commonwealth law, but law enforcement refused the request of the prime minister. As a policeman of Warwick, Sergeant Kenny was only beholden to Queensland law, and told the prime minister "You have no jurisdiction". [4] [5] [6]

Aftermath

The Commonwealth Police were created shortly after the event, and could enforce federal law across the Commonwealth. [7] There had been plans to create a similar entity for over a decade, and the egg throwing incident is considered a catalyst for its creation. [8]

In November 2007, the 90th anniversary of the Warwick egg-throwing incident was celebrated with a re-enactment at Warwick railway station. [2] [9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SENIOR-SERGEANT KENNY ENTIRELY EXONERATED". Warwick Examiner and Times (Qld. : 1867 – 1919) . Qld.: National Library of Australia. 5 December 1917. p. 4. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Number 120 – Telegram from Prime Minister Hughes to the Commissioner for Police regarding being egged (later referred to as the "Warwick Egg Incident")". Queensland State Archives. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Buckridge, Patrick (2012). Kirkpatrick, Peter John; Dixon, Robert (eds.). Republics of Letters: Literary Communities in Australia. Sydney University Press. p. 41. ISBN   9781920899783.
  4. ↑ "THE ATTACK ON MR. HUGHES". The Argus . Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 3 December 1917. p. 6. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "THE WARWICK SENSATION". The Brisbane Courier . National Library of Australia. 3 December 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "WARWICK AFFAIR. LIES BLOWN OUT". The Daily Standard . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 4 December 1917. p. 5 Edition: SECOND EDITION. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Egg Throwing Plaque", Monuments Australia accessed 22 June 2015
  8. ↑ " Early vision for national policing body", Australian Federal Police Archived 2015-06-22 at the Wayback Machine accessed 22 June 2015
  9. ↑ "Ninety years on, the egg is still fresh in Warwick". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 21 November 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Attribution

CC BY icon-80x15.png This Wikipedia article contains text from "Number 120 – Telegram from Prime Minister Hughes to the Commissioner for Police regarding being egged (later referred to as the “Warwick Egg Incident”)" published by the Queensland State Archives under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (last updated 5 March 2012, accessed on 18 October 2015, archived on 18 October 2015).

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