Sir Charles Sladen Print Page

The park commemorates Sir Charles Sladen who became the 6th Premier of Victoria.

In November 1855 Sladen was nominated to the Victorian Legislative Council, and was appointed acting Treasurer. When Victoria gained responsible government in 1856, Sladen was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as Member for Geelong, and became Treasurer in the ministry of William Haines, a position he held until March 1857. He advocated the creation of a public bank and increased immigration.

A firm conservative, Sladen lost his seat in the liberal election victory of 1861, but re-entered politics in 1864 when he was elected to the Legislative Council for Western Province. When the liberal Premier James McCulloch resigned in May 1868 during the conflict between the government and the Council over the proposed grant to retiring Governor Charles Darling, Sladen was asked by the new Governor, Sir John Manners-Sutton, to form a government. Since he had little support in the Assembly, his government had no prospect of long-term survival. Following the resolution of the Darling grant crisis, he stepped down in July, and in September he retired from the Council.

In September 1876 Sladen was again elected to the Council for Western Province, and became the de facto leader of the Council in its conflicts with the Assembly. Sladen retired in 1882 due to poor health and died in 1884 in Geelong.

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