Bastian, Peter: Andrew Fisher

Bastian, Peter

Andrew Fisher: an Underestimated Man, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 2009

Hoping to set the record straight, this biography asks why one of Australia’s greatest reformers has sunk into obscurity. Calling for a reevaluation of Andew Fisher’s career, the discussion reveals the skill with which he led the Australian Labor Party in its early years and the political will he demonstrated as prime minister in three separate Australian governments leading up to World War I. Fisher’s role as high commissioner in London during the war is also given careful attention. (blurb)

‘As well as being responsible for the creation of Australia’s navy, the introduction of a national currency and the establishment of a Commonwealth Bank, we can also thank Fisher for such historical landmarks as the introduction of a maternity allowance, the building of the transcontinental railway and the establishment of Canberra’, says Dr Bastian.

Reviewed (cost). Reviewed (free). Another book on Fisher is by David Day and there is a brief biography.

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