Today, it’s that quadrennial occasion that extends all our years a smidgen: a Leap Day, 29 February 2024. Unfortunately, we do not get Leap Day as a holiday whenever it rolls around (sort it out, governments!), but I do have some fun political history trivia.
I co-maintain a database about heads of government in Australia and New Zealand. It encompasses all the prime ministers, chief ministers, and premiers back to the first grants of self-government to what were then British colonies in Australasia in 1855.
Quite possibly my favourite detail from this database is from Leap Day:
- Only one head of government anywhere in Australia/NZ was born on a leap day
- Only one head of government anywhere in Australia/NZ has died on a leap day
Remarkably, THIS WAS THE SAME PERSON.
James Milne Wilson was premier of Tasmania from 4 August 1869 to 4 November 1872. He was born in Banff, Scotland, on 29 February 1812, and died on 29 February 1880, his “seventeenth” birthday, in Hobart, Tasmania.
Wilson, by the way, was a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), the upper house of the Tasmanian parliament. Premiers sitting as MLCs are very rare throughout Australasia—except in colonial Tasmania: Milne was the third successive MLC as premier.
I will post more about premiers who sat in the upper house in future. For now, though, I have more Fun Facts™ to share about the circumstances of birth for heads of government in Australia and NZ.
Has any Aus/NZ head of government been born or died on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day?
Yes! Not only can multiple individuals claim one or the other, but the trivia above might suggest to you that I’ve found someone who fulfils both dates. If that was your suspicion, pat yourself on the back because you’re right.
Hugh Nelson, Queensland premier 27 October 1893–13 April 1898, was born on 31 December 1833 in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and died at Toowoomba, Queensland, on 1 January 1906.
What about those individuals relevant to just one of these dates? Thomas Waddell, NSW premier 15 June–29 August 1904 was born on 1 January 1854 in Monaghan, Ireland. Meanwhile, George Kerferd, Victorian premier 31 July 1874–7 August 1875, died on 31 December 1889 in Sorrento.
Has any Aus/NZ head of government been born or died on Australia Day, 26 January?
Yes, one has been born on Australia Day. Charles Wade, NSW premier from 2 October 1907 to 20 October 1910, was born on 26 January 1863. At the time, this was not yet Australia Day, but he was born in Singleton, NSW, and by this point the date was already established as that colony’s Anniversary Day.
Has any Aus/NZ head of government been born or died on Waitangi Day, 6 February?
Yes, but none from NZ.
NSW premier Jim McGirr was born on 6 February 1890. He became premier on his 57th birthday, 6 February 1947, and served until 2 April 1952. McGirr was born in Parkes, making him the only head of government in Australasia born somewhere named for another head of government in Australasia: The town of Parkes is named for Sir Henry Parkes, 5x premier of NSW (still the longest-serving by cumulative time in office) and father of federation.
Two SA premiers died on Waitangi Day. John Colton, premier 6 June 1876–26 October 1877, died on 6 February 1902. Don Dunstan, perhaps the most celebrated premier of SA (1 June 1967–17 April 1968 and 2 June 1970–15 Feb 1979) died on 6 February 1999.
Lastly, Tasmania’s first Labor premier, Jack Earle (20–27 October 1910 and 6 April 1914–15 April 1916), died on 6 February 1932.
Has any Aus/NZ head of government been born or died on Anzac Day, 25 April?
Yep, two Australians. Moreover, both—one birth, one death—occurred after Anzac Day became a prominent occasion in both nations. Neither is a coincidental case of “oh this happened on a date that became important to their successors five decades later”.
John Cain (Jr), Victorian premier 8 April 1982–10 August 1990, was born in Melbourne on 25 April 1931.
Meanwhile, Tom Lewis, NSW premier 3 January 1975–23 January 1976, died on 25 April 2016. He was fewer than six years shy of a century.
Has any Aus/NZ head of government been born or died on Christmas Eve?
One birth, one death. Henry Dobson, Tasmanian premier 17 August 1892–14 April 1894, was born in Hobart on 24 December 1841. Boyle Finniss, the very first premier of SA (24 October 1856–21 August 1857), died on Christmas Eve, 1893.
Has any Aus/NZ head of government been born or died on Christmas Day?
No! What has struck me in compiling this data is that everyone above is Australian (in their premiership if not in their birth). I promise that my data encompasses all the polities of Australia/NZ. Are we Kiwis just born on mundane days? There are some close calls—Joseph Ward, twice NZ PM, was born across the ditch in Melbourne on 26 April 1856, a day late for what is now Anzac Day.
Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed my Leap Day trivia. There are some other intriguing details about the origins of our heads of government, but those will have to wait for another time. Until then, happy 29th February.
Dr André Brett 