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Portrait of Joseph Lyons

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  3. Australia's prime ministers
  4. Joseph Lyons

Joseph Lyons

Joseph Lyons was the Prime Minister of Australia from 1932 to 1939.

About Joseph Lyons

Portrait of Joseph Lyons

  • Born: 15 September 1879
  • Died: 7 April 1939
  • Partner: Enid Muriel Lyons
  • Political party: 
    • United Australia Party (as PM)
    • Australian Labor Party
  • Image: NAA: A1200, L11182A

Joseph Aloysius (Joe) Lyons was Australia's 10th Prime Minister. He was in office for 7 years, only a few days short of matching the then record term of William Hughes. He was the first Australian Prime Minister to die in office.

Lyons was a very successful electoral campaigner, with wife Enid, a major factor in his winning popularity and appeal. His cautious and orthodox financial management transformed him from a dissident Labor minister to a conservative Prime Minister. His Cabinet also needed careful management. He reshuffled ministries several times and negotiated a coalition with the Country Party after the 1934 election.

Did you know?

Joseph Lyons:

  • was the first prime minister to win 3 successive elections
  • was one of only 2 prime ministers who had been premiers (the other was George Reid, in 1904)
  • is the only Tasmanian to have become Prime Minister
  • was the second Australian to receive the Companion of Honour (Stanley Bruce was the first)
  • was nicknamed ‘Honest Joe’
  • married Enid Lyons, who in the first year of their marriage was ‘Queen of the Public Service’ in a Hobart carnival, with 9-year-old Errol Flynn her pageboy
  • had a politically active wife: Dame Enid Lyons became the first female member of the House of Representatives, and was the first female member of federal Cabinet

In this section: Joseph Lyons

  • Fast facts
  • Timeline
  • Before office
  • Elections
  • During office
  • After office
  • Partner
  • Key people
  • Records

Learning Resources

Original records and material to help students with their research.

Record

Excerpt from ABC radio broadcast of an address by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons.

Prime Minister Joseph Lyons' New Year address during the Great Depression

This is an excerpt from ABC radio broadcast of an address by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons.

Record

Joseph and Enid Lyon with the Duke of Gloucester.

Joseph and Enid Lyon with the Duke of Gloucester

This black-and-white photograph shows Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and his wife Enid standing on either side of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.

Record

Newspaper cartoon promoting assisted migration.

Newspaper cartoon promoting assisted migration

A cartoon relating to the efforts of Joseph Lyons’s United Australia Party government to increase the population of Australia.

Records about Joseph Lyons

View selected National Archives' records about Joseph Lyons

View records

Explore Prime Ministers

Portrait of James Scullin

James Scullin

1929-1932

Portrait of Earle Page

Earle Page

1939

Portrait of Robert Menzies

Robert Menzies

1939-1941
1949-1966

Old Parliament House, Canberra

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The National Archives of Australia acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to the people, their cultures and Elders past and present.

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