George Foster

George Matthew Foster (29 January 1884 – 6 June 1956) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Nationalist Party and served terms in the Tasmanian House of Assembly (1917–1919) and as a Senator for Tasmania (1920–1925). He suffered from shell shock and his term in the Senate was marked by absenteeism. He later became a leader of the temperance movement in Sydney.

Early life Foster was born on 29 January 1884 in Adelaide, South Australia. He was the son of Isabella (née Forscutt) and George Foster, his father being a tailor's cutter. The family moved to Tasmania and he was "probably educated in Hobart", leaving school to train as a mechanic.

Foster enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1914 and served with the 3rd Light Horse Regiment. He spent three months in Gallipoli, later serving with the regiment in Egypt before being sent home to Australia due to illness. He stood as a Nationalist with the support of the RSSILA. However, in the lead-up to the 1919 state election both he and the league disavowed any connection. He lost his seat "due to his position having been weakened by pressure groups in the electorate causing some disruption and weakening the Nationalist vote". During the hearing, the court was told that Foster was an alcoholic and been hospitalised the previous year after suffering a nervous breakdown. He had also suffered from insomnia since the war and "was unable to travel in trains or trams because of the vibrations". In October 1924, it was reported that the Confidential Finance Company had initiated lawsuits against Foster in multiple states for writing bad cheques. It was alleged that he had been absent from the Senate since February 1923, was living in Queensland, and had appeared in the Senate chamber for only a few minutes during that time, in order to avoid his seat being declared vacant.

In the session of parliament running from June 1923 to October 1924, Foster made the least appearances of any senator, attending for only six out of 95 sitting days. He was absent without leave on 64 sitting days. In February 1925, Tasmania's Taxation Department obtained a judgment against Foster for unpaid income tax. The Attorney-General of Tasmania stated that bankruptcy proceedings would be brought if no payment was made, which if successful would result in his seat being declared vacant. On 2 July 1925, the President of the Senate Thomas Givens announced that he had received a telegram from Foster announcing his resignation due to ill health.

Later life After leaving the Senate, Foster worked for periods at the Melbourne Zoo and at a Sydney land agency. He had married Vera Anita Pietriche in April 1922, with whom he had one daughter. He and Hammond hoped to build a ten-storey "temperance hotel" in Sydney.

Foster died at the Concord Repatriation General Hospital in Sydney on 6 June 1956.