Alfred Deakin - Early Life

Early Life

Deakin was the second child of English immigrants, William Deakin and his wife Sarah Bill, daughter of a Shropshire farmer, who had migrated to Australia in 1850 and settled in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood in 1853. Deakin worked as a storekeeper, water-carter and general carrier and then became a partner in a coaching business and later manager of Cobb and Co in Victoria.

Deakin was born at 90 George Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, and began his education at the age of four in a boarding school that was initially located at Kyneton, but later moved to the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra. In 1864 he became a day pupil at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, but did not study seriously until his later school years, when he came under the influence of J. H. Thompson and the school's headmaster, John Edward Bromby, whose oratorical style Deakin admired and later partly adopted. In 1871 he matriculated with good passes in history, algebra and Euclid and basic passes in English and Latin. He began evening classes in law at the University of Melbourne, while working as a schoolteacher and private tutor. He also spoke frequently at the University Debating Club founded by Charles Henry Pearson in 1874, read widely, dabbled in writing and became a lifelong spiritualist, holding the office of President of the Victorian Spiritualists' Union.

Deakin graduated in 1877 and began practising as a barrister, but had difficulty in obtaining briefs. In May 1878, he met David Syme, the owner of the Melbourne daily The Age, who paid him to contribute reviews, leaders and articles on politics and literature. In 1880, he became editor of The Leader, The Age's weekly. During this period Syme converted him from supporting free trade to protectionism. He became active in the Australian Natives Association and began to practise vegetarianism.