John Cain Senior (1882 - 1957)
John Cain was born in Greendale, Victoria on 19 January 1882. His father, Patrick Cane, was a farmer from Ireland. Tragically for young John, his father drowned in the Lerderderg River in 1890. After moving between relatives and his newly remarried mother, Cain worked for farmers in the Goulburn Valley. In 1907 he moved to Melbourne and after several jobs including hawking fruit and rabbits and theatre spruiking, became a fruiterer in High Street Northcote.
In 1926 Cain married Dorothea Grindrod, a successful milliner who owned five hat shops. Cain was to have two children, a son and a daughter. His son, also named John, was to go on to become Premier of Victoria from 1982 to 1990.
In 1957, whilst serving as Victorian Opposition Leader, Cain was campaigning in Queensland on behalf of Queensland Labor Party when he suffered a stroke. He died a few hours later.
Cain’s funeral took place in Northcote on 6 August 1957. Large crowds lined the streets to pay their respects to their Councillor, Member of the Legislative Assembly, and former Premier of Victoria.
[edit] Political career
In 1915 John Cain defeated sitting Councillor E. J. Lees to become a councillor for South Ward, Northcote. It was a narrow victory, 320 votes to 277. He was to remain a councillor until 1927.
In November 1917 Cain stood for the seat of Jika Jika in the Legislative Assembly. There were four candidates including two from the Nationalist Party. The vote was close with the election, and the Nationalists were left to rue fielding two candidates, as their two candidates combined enjoyed a 586 vote lead over Cain but lost out on preferences.
It was a fiery time to enter politics both at local and state level. The First World War was raging and conscription, as well as labour issues were splitting the state and indeed the country. Cain proved a very capable speaker and was able to stand his ground well in the many headed political clashes in which he participated.
In September 1923 Harold Lawson became Premier, to be replaced in April 1924 by Sir Alexander Peacock. After General Elections in July, George Prendergast became the next Premier. Cain was then appointed Assistant Minister for Agriculture, a position which lasted only until John Allan became the next Premier in November of that year. Allan was the fourth Premier of Victoria in just over a year.
In the 1927/8 Cain regained his Ministry position and went on to become Minister for Railways and Minister for Electrical Undertakings. His star was rising. The Labor Government collapsed during the Great Depression and Cain became the Deputy Opposition Leader, with Thomas Tunnecliffe as leader. In 1937 Cain became the Opposition Leader.
From 1935 to 1943 the State was led by County Party leader Albert Dunstan but when it collapsed in September 1943 Cain became Premier. His stay was brief, only four days before the conservative parties resolved their differences and regained power.
Cain had to wait until 1945 when on 10 November he won the General Election and became Premier in his own right. However he held only 31 seats, with the Country Party 18, Liberals 13, and Independents 3 seats. In 1947 he was forced to hold an election after supply was blocked by the Legislative Council. He lost after the issue was fought on largely national issues, particularly the Prime Minister Ben Chiefly’s plan to nationalise banks.
In October 1952 Cain was re-elected as the Premier of Victoria. This time he enjoyed a majority in the Legislative Assembly although his legislation was hampered by a hostile Legislative Council.
Cain’s third and final government imploded in 1955 as the party divided itself between pro Catholic anti communist supports of B. Santamaria, and the rising communist movement. The moderates led by Cain found themselves swamped in this internal struggle and in March 1955 24 members of the State Parliament were suspended. The following month the expelled members crossed the floor and voted with the Liberals, bringing down the Cain government.
In the election that followed the Labor Party suffered a heavy defeat. Cain remained the Leader of the Opposition until his death in 1957. The Labor Party was not to regain power in Victoria until 1982 when John Cain’s son, John became the Premier.
