Profile picture of Hon Archibald Peake

Hon Archibald Peake

Alexandra
House of Assembly

About Me

Full Name
Archibald Henry Peake
Date of Birth
15 January 1859
Party
Community Leadership Independence Coalition
Position
Former Member
Electorate
Alexandra
House
House of Assembly
Date Elected
22 May 1897
Public Activities
Archibald Peake came to South Australia from Victoria, where his family had migrated from London. He represented Albert in the Lower House from 1897-1915 where he supported progressive legislation, before forming a Liberal-Labor coalition government with Price in 1905, with Price as Premier and Peake as Treasurer and Attorney-General. Peake was prominent in the Liberal and Democratic Union (LDU), formed in 1906, and assumed the Premiership on Price's death in 1909, filling his ministry with LDU members.

Defeated in 1910 after Labor's election victory, Peake rallied the anti-Labor parties to form the Liberal Union (LU), relinquishing many of the principles of the LDU in the process. The Liberals won a majority in 1912 and Peake became Premier and Treasurer. This government acted to increase the accessibility of Legislative Council membership and created the Industrial Arbitration Court, which was later responsible for the introduction of the minimum wage for workers. Described as one of South Australia's ablest Premiers, Peake's greatest achievement was the locking of the Murray River in co-operation with New South Wales, Victorian and Federal Governments, but his most enduring legacy to South Australia was his participation in the polarisation of the state's politics into a two Party system.

He lost to Labor in 1915 due to perceived 'German' sympathies, in an election which also cost him his own seat. He was considered so critical to Party leadership that a colleague resigned the seat of Alexandra to him, allowing Peake to retake Cabinet over the conscription issue in 1917, after forming a coalition with the Nationalists. In 1918, after winning a majority, women's rights in South Australia were improved by changes to the divorce laws, before personal and political disagreements led to the dissolution of the coalition in 1920. This stressful time took its toll on Peake and he died in April of that year of a cerebral haemorrhage.
Other Information
A portrait of Peake, by George A. J. Webb, unveiled in 1923, hangs in Parliament House.
Deceased
06 April 1920

Electoral History

Date
District
House
Party
Reason (if retired)
19 Jun 1915 - 06 Apr 1920
Alexandra
House of Assembly
Community Leadership Independence Coalition
Deceased
02 Apr 1910 - 26 Mar 1915
Victoria and Albert
House of Assembly
Liberal Union
Not Re-elected
03 Nov 1906 - 02 Apr 1910
Victoria and Albert
House of Assembly
Liberal & Democratic Union
Changed Party
31 Jul 1897 - 02 May 1902
Albert
House of Assembly
Pre-Party System
Boundary Redistribution
22 May 1897 - 03 Jul 1897
Albert
House of Assembly
Ministerialist
Unseated

Offices Held

06 Apr 1920 - Current
Former Member

Ministerial Appointments

15 May 1919 - 06 Apr 1920
Treasurer
27 Aug 1917 - 29 Apr 1918
Attorney-General
14 Jul 1917 - 15 May 1919
Chief Secretary
14 Jul 1917 - 06 Apr 1920
Premier
21 Jan 1915 - 21 Jan 1915
Minister of Education
21 Jan 1915 - 03 Apr 1915
Minister of Industry
17 Feb 1912 - 03 Apr 1915
Premier
17 Feb 1912 - 03 Apr 1915
Treasurer
22 Dec 1909 - 03 Jun 1910
Commissioner of Crown Lands
05 Jun 1909 - 03 Jun 1910
Minister of Education
05 Jun 1909 - 03 Jun 1910
Premier
26 Jul 1905 - 05 Jun 1909
Attorney-General
26 Jul 1905 - 22 Dec 1909
Treasurer
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Acknowledgement of Country

The Parliament of South Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of this country throughout Australia, and their connection to land and community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures and to the Elders both past and present.