John Cain (34th Premier of Victoria) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable John Cain
34th Premier of Victoria Elections: 1940, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1955
In office 17 December 1952 – 7 June 1955
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	Sir Dallas Brooks
Deputy	Bill Galvin
Preceded by	John McDonald
Succeeded by	Henry Bolte
In office 21 November 1945 – 20 November 1947
Monarch	George VI
Governor	Lord Dugan
Deputy	Frank Field
Preceded by	Ian Macfarlan
Succeeded by	Thomas Hollway
In office 14 September 1943 – 18 September 1943
Monarch	George VI
Governor	Lord Dugan
Deputy	Bert Cremean
Preceded by	Albert Dunstan
Succeeded by	Albert Dunstan
Leader of the Opposition of Victoria
In office 7 June 1955 – 4 August 1957
Premier	Henry Bolte
Deputy	Bill Galvin Ernie Shepherd
Preceded by	Henry Bolte
Succeeded by	Ernie Shepherd
In office 23 July 1952 – 17 December 1952
Premier	John McDonald Thomas Hollway John McDonald
Deputy	Bill Galvin
Preceded by	Les Norman
Succeeded by	Trevor Oldham
In office 20 November 1947 – 7 December 1948
Premier	Thomas Hollway
Deputy	Frank Field Bill Galvin
Preceded by	John McDonald
Succeeded by	John McDonald
In office 18 September 1943 – 21 November 1945
Premier	Albert Dunstan Ian Macfarlan
Deputy	Bert Cremean Frank Field
Preceded by	Albert Dunstan
Succeeded by	John McDonald
Leader of the Labor Party in Victoria
In office 19 October 1937 – 4 August 1957
Deputy	Bert Cremean Frank Field Bill Galvin Ernie Shepherd
Preceded by	Tom Tunnecliffe
Succeeded by	Ernie Shepherd
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Northcote
In office 9 April 1927 – 4 August 1957
Preceded by	Seat created
Succeeded by	Frank Wilkes
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Jika Jika
In office 15 November 1917 – 4 March 1927
Preceded by	James Membrey
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Personal details
Born	John Kane (1882-01-19)19 January 1882 Greendale, Victoria
Died	4 August 1957(1957-08-04) (aged 75) Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Dorothea Vera Marie Grindrod (m. 1926)
Children	2, including John Cain
Relatives	John Cain (grandson)
Profession	Fruiterer, clerk and organiser

John Cain (born January 19, 1882 – died August 4, 1957) was an important Australian politician. He became the 34th Premier of Victoria, which is like being the leader of the state government. He was the first leader of the Labor Party in Victoria to win enough seats to form a majority government. John Cain is also the only Premier of Victoria whose son also became Premier later on.

Early Life and Beginnings

John Cain was born in Greendale, Victoria, near Bacchus Marsh. He was the oldest of 13 children. His father, Patrick Cane, was a farmer from Ireland. John's birth name was John Caine, but he later changed the spelling of his last name to Cain.

He didn't have much formal schooling. From a young age, he worked on farms in the Goulburn Valley. Around 1907, he moved to Melbourne and worked as a fruit seller in Northcote.

Starting a Political Career

Around 1910, John Cain joined the Victorian Socialist Party. He also became involved with the Labor Party. In 1915, he started working as an organiser for the Theatrical Employees' Union. The next year, he became a clerk in the Defence Department.

However, he lost this job because he was against conscription (forcing people to join the army) during World War I. After that, he became an organiser for the Clothing Trades Union. From 1915 to 1927, he was a Labor member of the Northcote City Council. In 1921, he focused fully on being a mainstream Labor politician.

In 1926, John Cain married Dorothea Grindrod. They had two children, including his son John Cain, who was born in 1931. John Cain sent his son to private schools, which was unusual for a Labor politician at that time.

Entering Parliament

In 1917, Cain was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly. This is the main law-making part of the Victorian Parliament. He represented the area called Jika Jika. In 1927, this area was renamed Northcote. He held this seat for 40 years.

Victoria was a challenging state for the Labor Party to win a majority. This was partly because of strong support for other parties in country areas. Also, the way voting districts were set up often gave more power to rural areas. This made it harder for Labor to win, as their support was mostly in the cities.

Cain served in several roles in earlier Labor governments. He was an assistant minister in 1924 and a minister in 1927–28 and 1929–32. These were minority governments, meaning Labor didn't have enough seats to govern alone.

In 1937, John Cain became the leader of the Labor Party in Victoria. For several years, Labor supported the Country Party government led by Albert Dunstan.

John Cain's Three Times as Premier

First Time as Premier (1943)

John Cain during the 1940s

In September 1943, the Premier, Albert Dunstan, resigned. His government lost a "vote of no confidence" in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. This means most members of parliament no longer supported his government.

John Cain then became Premier on September 14. His first time as Premier was very short. It lasted only four days, from September 14 to September 18, 1943. The other parties quickly voted against his government. Cain asked the Governor to call a new election, but the Governor refused. So, Cain resigned, and Dunstan became Premier again.

Second Time as Premier (1945–1947)

After some changes in government, John Cain became Premier again on November 21, 1945. This time, Labor had more seats in the parliament. They had 31 seats, while the Country Party had 18 and the Liberals had 13.

However, Cain's government still didn't have a majority in the Victorian Legislative Council, which is the upper house of parliament. In October 1947, the upper house blocked his government's budget. They did this to show their disagreement with the federal Labor government's plans to take over private banks. Even though this was a federal issue, Cain was forced to resign. He called an election for November 8, 1947, which Labor lost badly.

Third Time as Premier (1952–1955)

The 1950 election didn't result in a clear winner. The Liberal and Country parties didn't get along, so no stable government could be formed. In October 1952, the Country Party Premier, John McDonald, resigned and called an early election.

This time, Labor won 37 seats, which was a majority in the lower house. This was the first time Labor had achieved this in Victoria! John Cain then formed his third government.

Reforms and Challenges

Cain's third government faced challenges from the Legislative Council, which often had a conservative majority. There were also tensions within his own Labor Party. During the 1950s, a group of anti-Communist Catholics formed within the party to fight Communist influence. This group was called "The Movement."

Despite these challenges, Cain's government passed many important laws. They made big changes in areas like:

• Workers' compensation (support for injured workers)
• Tenancy law (rules for renters and landlords)
• Long service leave (extra paid time off for long-term employees)
• Improvements for hospitals and public transport
• Laws about housing and charities
• Changes to the Crimes Act

They also improved rules for setting wages and managing the public service. Even some changes to the voting system were passed. These changes helped reduce the unfair way voting districts were drawn, which had given the Country Party too much power. For the first two years, major Melbourne newspapers approved of Cain's government.

The Labor Party Split

However, Cain's third government fell on April 19, 1955. This happened because of a major split within the Labor Party. The split began in October 1954 when the federal Labor leader blamed "The Movement" for Labor losing seats in the 1954 federal election.

In early 1955, the Labor Party's federal leaders removed the state leaders in Victoria. They started expelling members who supported "The Movement." In March, 24 members of the State Parliament were suspended from the party. Four ministers in Cain's government were forced to resign.

When Parliament met on April 19, 1955, 19 of these expelled Labor members voted against Cain's government. This "no confidence" vote caused the government to fall. In the election that followed in May 1955, Labor lost badly.

Later Life and Legacy

John Cain was 73 years old at the time of the split, though he still seemed very energetic. He remained the leader of the Labor Party. In 1957, the Labor Party split also affected Queensland. Cain traveled to Townsville, Queensland, to campaign for Labor in an election there. On August 9, he had a stroke and passed away a few hours later, at age 75.

Alfred Ernest "Ernie" Shepherd took over as Labor leader after Cain. The Labor Party remained out of power in Victoria until 1982. That's when John Cain's son, John Cain, Jr., led the party back into government.

See also