text: albert gould sir albert john gould ( 12 february 1847 – 27 july 1936 ) was an australian politician and solicitor who served as the second president of the australian senate . a solicitor , businessman and citizen soldier before his entry into politics , gould was a member of the new south wales legislative assembly from 1882 to 1898 , during which time he served as minister for justice in two free trade governments . he later served two years in the new south wales legislative council from 1899 to 1901 until his election to the australian senate . gould 's interest in parliamentary procedure saw him become involved with the relevant standing committee and he was elected unopposed as the second president of the senate in 1907 . his tenure is remembered as more traditionalist and than his predecessor 's . defeated by the labor nominee in 1910 following the liberal government 's defeat , gould remained in parliament as a backbencher until 1917 , when he retired after he was not re - endorsed by the nationalist party . he was active in community and religious affairs during his long retirement . early life and career gould was born in sydney , the son of solicitor john morton gould and his wife anne ( née livingstone ) . he attended william woolls ' school in parramatta , and went on to study law at the university of sydney , although he did not take a degree . he served his articles with his father and was admitted to the bar in december 1870 . he then worked in singleton for a sydney legal firm . gould also developed significant business interests , being involved with the great cobar copper mining syndicate and serving as a director of the electric light and power supply company , the city bank of sydney and the oriental timber corporation . on 12 september 1872 , he married jeanette jessie maitland at st paul 's church of england in west maitland . gould was also a citizen soldier , enlisting as a volunteer in the west maitland company of the new south wales volunteer forces . he later took command of the singleton company , becoming a major in 1886 . he later received the volunteer officers ' decoration for long service ; he would retire from the regiment in 1902 as a lieutenant - colonel . state politics in 1882 , gould was elected to the new south wales legislative assembly as the member for patrick 's plains ( renamed singleton in 1894 ) . initially an opponent of the coalition associated with henry parkes and john robertson , he later supported robertson 's government in 1885 . by 1887 he was supporting his career with his own legal practice in singleton and sydney , and when the party system came into being in new south wales in that year he identified as a free trader . in 1889 he was appointed minister for justice under parkes , serving until 1891 ; he held the position again under george reid from 1894 to 1898 . during the first period of his ministry he became involved in a dispute with the chief justice , sir frederick darley , over requests for improved court accommodation and a contested punishment for contempt of two witnesses . despite embarrassing his premier , he remained close with parkes throughout his state career and in later years frequently gave speeches in his memory . gould 's career as justice minister was marked by consolidation of the law , tightening of licensing laws and reforms relating to police courts . a supporter of federation , he nevertheless opposed the 1898 bill , which he believed deprived new south wales of adequate recognition . he was defeated in the election of that year , but in 1899 he was one of premier reid 's twelve appointments to the legislative council that enabled the passage of the legislation for a referendum on federation . senate career following federation , gould contested the first federal election in march 1901 , standing for the senate as a free trader . he was elected in the third of six positions , entitling him to a six - year term . his first speech was largely devoted to his impassioned support for free trade , and in his early years as a senator he also supported decentralisation and opposed proposals to establish a federal capital . a supporter of the white australia policy , he expressed concern over kanaka labour in queensland , although his assumption that the arrangement was temporary enabled his pragmatism on this issue . gould was also involved in defence matters , supporting the introduction of conscription and maintaining loyalty to the empire , where " there are men much more experienced in the principles of government than we are " . at the 1906 election , gould was easily re - elected in the first position , winning the largest vote for any senator to that time . from 1901 gould maintained an interest in the procedure of the senate , and was a member of the standing orders committee from its appointment in 1901 until 1907 . he had supported the opening of senate proceedings with prayer and had made frequent reference to the standing orders of the british house of commons . he contested the presidency of the senate in 1904 , but was defeated by the incumbent , sir richard baker . on baker 's retirement , gould was unanimously elected president on 20 february 1907 . he endeavoured to keep the senate representative of the states ' interests and free from party politics , and his rulings focused on unparliamentary language and relevance . gould , appointed knight bachelor in 1908 , differed from his predecessor in his adherence to british influence . with the election of the fisher labor government in 1910 , gould was defeated by harry turley for the presidency . despite his support for conscription , gould was not endorsed by the new nationalist party to contest the 1917 election . deeply offended , gould nevertheless elected to retire rather than run as an independent and split the nationalist vote . later life in his retirement , gould continued his community involvement . a director of the royal prince alfred hospital and the royal alexandra hospital for children , he also served as a member and chancellor of the sydney and newcastle synods of the church of england . he died in july 1936 at rose bay aged 89 ; he was survived by two sons and three daughters ( his wife died in 1928 ; one daughter had also predeceased him ) . gould was given a state funeral at st andrew 's cathedral and was buried at south head cemetery .