# Richard Witty Foster

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{{Short description|Australian politician (1856–1932)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [The Honourable](/source/The_Honourable)
| name             = Richard Foster
| honorific_suffix =
| image            = Portrait of R. W. Foster (cropped).jpg
| office           = [Minister for Works and Railways](/source/Department_of_Works_and_Railways)
| prime_minister   = [Billy Hughes](/source/Billy_Hughes)
| predecessor      = [Littleton Groom](/source/Littleton_Groom)
| successor        = [Percy Stewart](/source/Percy_Stewart)
| term_start       = 21 December 1921
| term_end         = 9 February 1923
| constituency_MP2 = [Wakefield](/source/Division_of_Wakefield)
| parliament2      = Australian
| predecessor2     = [Frederick Holder](/source/Frederick_Holder)
| successor2       = [Maurice Collins](/source/Maurice_Collins_(politician))
| term_start2      = 28 August 1909
| term_end2        = 17 November 1928
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=yes|1856|8|20}}
| birth_place      = [Goodmanham](/source/Goodmanham), [Yorkshire](/source/Yorkshire), [England](/source/England)
| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=yes|1932|1|5|1856|8|20}}
| death_place      = [St Peters, South Australia](/source/St_Peters%2C_South_Australia)
| spouse           = Elizabeth Lees
| party            = [Liberal](/source/Commonwealth_Liberal_Party) (1909–17) <br /> [Nationalist](/source/Nationalist_Party_of_Australia) (1917–28)
| relations        = 
| children         = 
| alma_mater       = 
| occupation       = Grocer
| profession       = 
| signature        = 
| website          = 
| footnotes        =  
}}
'''Richard Witty Foster''' (20 August 1856 – 5 January 1932)<ref name=parl/> was an Australian politician. He began his career in the [Parliament of South Australia](/source/Parliament_of_South_Australia) (1893–1906) and served two terms as [Commissioner of Public Works](/source/Commissioner_of_Public_Works_(South_Australia)) in liberal and conservative governments. He was elected to [federal parliament](/source/Parliament_of_Australia) in 1909 as a [Liberal](/source/Liberal_Party_(Australia%2C_1909)), later joining the [Nationalists](/source/Nationalist_Party_(Australia)). He was [Minister for Works and Railways](/source/Department_of_Works_and_Railways) (1921–1923) under Prime Minister [Billy Hughes](/source/Billy_Hughes), eventually losing his seat at the [1928 election](/source/1928_Australian_federal_election).

==Early life==
Foster was born in [Goodmanham](/source/Goodmanham), [Pocklington](/source/Pocklington), [Yorkshire](/source/Yorkshire), [England](/source/England) and educated at Prospect House, [Tockwith](/source/Tockwith) and apprenticed to a draper.  He emigrated to [South Australia](/source/South_Australia) in 1880 and established a business as a grocer and general provider at [Quorn](/source/Quorn%2C_South_Australia).  He married Elizabeth Lees in September 1884.  He was elected to the [Corporate Town of Quorn](/source/Corporate_Town_of_Quorn) council in 1887 and was mayor from 1890 to 1892.<ref name=adb>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography
|last=McDonald 
|first=D. I. 
|authorlink= 
|year=1981
|id=A080575b
|title= Foster, Richard Witty (1856 - 1932) 
|accessdate=2007-11-09}}</ref>

==South Australian politics==
thumb|left|upright|Studio portrait of Foster by W. Hammer & Co., Adelaide
On 19 April 1893, Foster was elected to the [South Australian House of Assembly](/source/South_Australian_House_of_Assembly) as the member for [Newcastle](/source/Electoral_district_of_Newcastle_(South_Australia)), a seat he held until Newcastle was abolished on 2 May 1902.<ref name=parl>{{cite SA-parl |pid=3746 |name=Richard Witty Foster |former=yes |access-date=23 August 2022}}</ref>  From 3 May 1902 until 2 November 1906, Foster represented [Flinders](/source/Electoral_district_of_Flinders).<ref name=parl/> He was Commissioner for Public Works from 8 December 1899 to 4 July 1904<ref name=parl/> and Minister for Industry from 1902 to 1904 in the liberal governments of [Frederick Holder](/source/Frederick_Holder) and [John Jenkins](/source/John_Jenkins_(Australian_politician)).  He resigned from the ministry in 1904, but still supported Jenkins until it fell in 1905 and was then Commissioner for Public Works and Minister for Agriculture in the conservative administration of [Richard Butler](/source/Richard_Butler_(Australian_politician)), but lost his seat in 1906.<ref name=adb/>

==Federal politics==
Foster won the seat of [Wakefield](/source/division_of_Wakefield) in the [House of Representatives](/source/Australian_House_of_Representatives) at a [1909 by-election](/source/1909_Wakefield_by-election), standing for the [Liberal Party](/source/Commonwealth_Liberal_Party).  In December 1921, he was appointed [Minister for Works and Railways](/source/Department_of_Works_and_Railways) in the [Hughes](/source/Fifth_Hughes_Ministry) ministry, but was dropped from the ministry in February 1923 by [Stanley Bruce](/source/Stanley_Bruce).  He refused to join the South Australian [Country Party](/source/National_Party_of_Australia) and was beaten by its candidate, [Maurice Collins](/source/Maurice_Collins_(politician)) in the [1928 elections](/source/1928_Australian_federal_election).<ref name=adb/>

Foster died in the Adelaide [suburb](/source/suburb) of [St Peters](/source/St_Peters%2C_South_Australia) on 5 January 1932, survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.<ref name=adb/>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-civ}}
{{s-bef | before=John Lord}}
{{s-ttl | title=Mayor of [Quorn](/source/Corporate_Town_of_Quorn) | years=1890–1892 }}
{{s-aft | after=John Rock}}
{{s-par|au-sa}}
{{s-bef | before=[Joseph Hancock](/source/Joseph_Hancock_(Australian_politician))}}
{{s-ttl | title=Member for [Newcastle](/source/Electoral_district_of_Newcastle_(South_Australia)) | years=1893-1902 |alongside =[Thomas Burgoyne](/source/Thomas_Burgoyne_(Australian_politician))}}
{{s-aft|after=Electorate abolished}}
{{s-bef | before=[William Tennant Mortlock](/source/William_Tennant_Mortlock)}}
{{s-ttl | title=Member for [Flinders](/source/Electoral_district_of_Flinders) | years=1902-1906 |alongside = [Thomas Burgoyne](/source/Thomas_Burgoyne_(Australian_politician))<br />[David McKenzie](/source/David_McKenzie_(South_Australian_politician))}}
{{s-aft|after=[John Travers](/source/John_Travers_(Australian_politician))}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef | before= [Andrew Handyside](/source/Andrew_Dods_Handyside) }}
{{s-ttl | title=South Australian<br />[Commissioner of Public Works](/source/Commissioner_of_Public_Works_(South_Australia)) | years= 1899{{spaced ndash}}1904 }}
{{s-vac|next=Richard Foster }}
|-
{{s-vac|last=Richard Foster }}
{{s-ttl | title=South Australian<br />[Commissioner of Public Works](/source/Commissioner_of_Public_Works_(South_Australia)) | years= 1905 }}
{{s-aft|after=[Thomas Price](/source/Thomas_Price_(South_Australian_politician))}}
|-
{{s-par|au}}
{{succession box|before=[Frederick Holder](/source/Frederick_Holder) |title=Member for [Wakefield](/source/Division_of_Wakefield)|years=1909 – 1928 |after=[Maurice Collins](/source/Maurice_Collins_(politician))}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|before= [Littleton Groom](/source/Littleton_Groom) |title= [Minister for Works and Railways](/source/Department_of_Works_and_Railways) |years=1921 – 1923 |after=[Percy Stewart](/source/Percy_Stewart) }}
{{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Richard Witty}}
Category:Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia
Category:Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
Category:Members of the South Australian House of Assembly
Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Wakefield
Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Category:1856 births
Category:1932 deaths
Category:Members of the Cabinet of Australia
Category:British emigrants to the Colony of South Australia
Category:Liberal Party (1922) members of the Parliament of Australia
Category:Australian grocers
Category:Mayors of places in South Australia
Category:People from Market Weighton
Category:Australian MPs 1910–1913
Category:Australian MPs 1913–1914
Category:Australian MPs 1914–1917
Category:Australian MPs 1917–1919
Category:Australian MPs 1919–1922
Category:Australian MPs 1922–1925
Category:Australian MPs 1925–1928

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Richard Witty Foster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Witty_Foster) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Witty_Foster?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.