Home > William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley

In 1902 Dudley was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in which post he displayed great extravagance but also some political and administrative ability. As a Conservative, Dudley could not have expected preferment from the Liberal government which came to office in 1905Events January-April January 22 Massacre of Russian demonstrators at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, one of the triggers of the abortive Russian Revolution of 1905. January 26 The Cullinan Diamond is found near Pretoria, South Africa at the Premier, but King Edward VII pressed the Prime Minister, Sir Henry Campbell-BannermanSir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( September 7, 1836 April 22, 1908) was a British Liberal politician who served as Prime Minister from December 5 1905 until resigning due to ill health on April 3 1908. Campbell-Bannerman was born in Glasgow in 1836 as "Henry to offer Dudley the post of Governor-General of Australia, and Campbell-Bannerman agreed, since there was apparently no suitable Liberal candidate available.

Dudley arrived in SydneyThis is about the city of Sydney in Australia. For other meanings, see Sydney (disambiguation), or Sidney. Sydney Opera House Sydney is the capital city of the Australian state of New South Wales and Australia's largest and oldest city, founded in 1788. in September 19081908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). Events January-February January 1 A ball signifying New Year's Day drops in New York City's Times Square for the first time January 8 A train collision occurs in the Park Avenue T, and soon established a reputation for pomp, ceremony and extravagance which was unwelcome to many Australians, particularly the Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australia's oldest political party. It is so-named because of its origins in and close links to the trade union movement. While Australians normally spell Labour with an "-our" ending, in the name of the party it is sp and the radical press such as The BulletinThe Bulletin is a weekly magazine, which has been published in Sydney, Australia since 1880. It was immensely influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the Bulletin school" of. Not long after his arrival, he found himself swearing in a Labor cabinet under Andrew FisherAndrew Fisher ( 29 August, 1862 22 October, 1928), Australian politician and fifth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Crosshouse, a mining village near Kilmarnock in Ayrshire Scotland. He had almost no formal education and worked in the coal-mines f, so the Labor Party's disapproval of his vice-regal style became an important issue.

The new Governor-General soon found himself involved in another controversy. It was part of Labor policy to establish an independent Australian navy. The LiberalThis article concerns the modern Australian political party. For the Australian Liberal party active from 1909 to 1916, see Commonwealth Liberal Party. Liberal Party of Australia Current Leader John Howard Founded 1945 Headquarters Cnr Blackall and Macqua opposition, on the other hand, supported the campaign for Australia to raise money to build ships for the Royal Navy: the so-called Dreadnought campaign. So when Dudley made a speech in support of the Dreadnought campaign, he was straying into party politics, leading to a tense relationship with Fisher.

In 1909 Fisher's minority government resigned, and Dudley refused him an early election. The Liberals returned to office under Alfred Deakin, solving Dudley's immediate problems. But although Fisher was careful not to criticise Dudley in public, the Governor-General had acquired a reputation as "anti-Labor," which made him unpopular with half the Australian electorate.

In April 1910 Labor won a sweeping election victory and Fisher returned to power. Relations between Governor-General and Prime Minister were soon once again frosty. Dudley's insistence on maintaining two very expensive Government Houses, in Sydney and Melbourne, on travelling around the country in vice-regal pomp, and on chartering a steam-yacht to circumnavigate the continent, infuriated Fisher, a frugal Scottish socialist.

By October Dudley had recognised the impossibility of his position and asked to be recalled. He left Australia in July 1911, unmarked by any official ceremony. With the Liberals still in power in Britain, he held no further public office. He served in the First World War, then retired to his estates, where he died in June 1932.

In his role as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Dudley makes an appearance in the Wandering Rocks episode of James Joyce's Ulysses(set on June 16, 1904), when a cavalcade taking him to dedicate a hospital crosses the paths of various characters.