Robert Stanley Richards
Entered office Feb 13 1933
Left office Apr 18 1933

Robert Stanley Richards - 1933

Born to a Cornish mining family, Robert Richards spent the first years of his life in Moonta. He left school at the age of thirteen to work in the mines - first in menial jobs and later as a tradesman. The mining culture brought him into contact with union politics and Richards became prominent in the movement. This led to his candidature and election as the Labor member for Wallaroo in the House of Assembly - a seat he held for the three decades between 1918 and 1949. Richards played a role in the Labor governments of Gunn and Hill, becoming deputy Opposition leader under Hill on Labor's defeat in 1927. With the onset of the Depression, the Labor Party was elected in 1930. The second Hill administration was a deeply troubled one, seemingly unable to respond effectively - or at times even tactfully - to the State's myriad problems. The implementation of frugal deflationary measures embodied in the 1931 Premier's Plan saw the emergence of widespread discontent within the community, and the expulsion of Hill, Richards and their Cabinet colleagues from the Labor Party. Hill struggled on as Premier until Feb 1933, leaving Richards with the thankless task of leading a divided minority government to the next election. Labor was soundly defeated in the elections of that year, and Richards became Opposition leader, a position he held until 1949. After leaving Parliament Richards sat on a number of government boards, was appointed Commonwealth Administrator of Nauru in 1949 but returned to South Australia after two years. Respected by his political colleagues as a vigorous and skilled opponent, Richards died in Moonta in 1967.