ON HIS first day as Australian prime minister, the former premier of Tasmania and former Labor Party member Joseph Lyons told the country that his government would at all times tell the people the truth of the nation's position and what was needed to hasten a return to prosperity.
Lyons came to power in the midst of the Great Depression of the 1930s.
It was a time of high unemployment, widespread poverty and social upheaval as the world economy crumbled.
Lyons's reputation was as a social reformer and conciliator and his newly formed United Australia Party contained other disaffected Labor politicians and members of the conservative National Party.
At the federal election of November 1931, the UAP won 39 of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives.
Lyons invited members of the opposition Country Party to join his cabinet, but they declined.
The Lyons Ministry was sworn in on January 6, 1932, with the new prime minister saying ``it was hoped that the people of Australia would constitute one grand council of state with every member determined to do all within his power to make the national life happier, a more hopeful and a more profitable experience than it had been in the immediate past.''
It was an especially proud time for Tasmanians.
Joseph Lyons was the first Tasmanian to become prime minister and only the second state premier to win the top job.
With his wife Enid and their 10 children, they became the first family to occupy the Lodge, the official prime minister's residence in Canberra.
The Federal Parliament had only moved to Canberra in 1927 and the first occupant, Stanley Bruce, had no children.
Lyons's predecessor, James Scullin, preferred to stay in a hotel.
Joseph Lyons was born into a Catholic family in Stanley in 1879 and trained as a teacher.
He taught at many schools around Tasmania and joined the Workers' Political League, the forerunner of the Australian Labor Party, around 1906.
He became an outspoken critic of the Education Department and was elected to the committee of the Launceston branch of the WPL while working at the Wellington Square State School.
Lyons resigned as a teacher to pursue a political career and in 1909 at the age of 30 was elected to Tasmania's House of Assembly for the seat of Wilmot.
He served 19 years in the Tasmanian Parliament for the Australian Labor Party, holding senior ministries and becoming premier in 1923.
He oversaw reforms to the education system and gained a reputation for careful economic management and a strong social conscience.
After the defeat of his government in 1928, he was encouraged by federal ALP leader James Scullin to stand for election to the House of Representatives.
He was successful and became postmaster-general in the Sculling government.
The turmoil of the Great Depression saw a fracture of the ALP and in 1931 Lyons formed the United Australia Party, which won a resounding victory at the 1931 federal election.
On Thursday, January 7, 1932, The Examiner headlined its coverage of the new government: Lyons Ministry Takes Over.
``The Lyons Ministry has assumed control of the affairs of the Commonwealth. Today the Scullin Ministry relinquished its responsibility, after which members of the new executive went to Government House, and were sworn in by the Governor-General (Sir Isaac Isaacs).
``Mr Lyons arrived at the Prime Minister's office a little ahead of time, but Mr Scullin was waiting for him, and the two had a long talk until the time arranged for the making of a sound film.
``When the transfer had been effected, members of the new Ministry came to the Senate courtyard, which temporarily housed queer machines and snaking wires, which were necessary for the recording of the sound film.
``To a battery of cameras and microphones, Mr Lyons introduced his ministers.
``He stated that each member of his Ministry recognised his responsibility to the people of Australia, and also the magnitude of the task which confronted him.''
In his first broadcast to the nation, Mr Lyons said he was conscious of the honour and dignity conferred on him as official leader of the Australian Federation.
It would be his high purpose, he said, to uphold the good name and honour of the Commonwealth and contribute to the utmost of his ability to the solution of their very serious difficulties.
Joseph Lyons served as Australian prime minister through the Great Depression and, with his health failing, as war clouds again gathered over Europe.
He died at Sydney Hospital on April 7, 1939, of a heart attack at the age of 59.
Memorial services were held in Sydney and Canberra and he was buried in Devonport.
In 1943, Enid Lyons, who was 18 years younger than her husband, became the first woman elected to the House of Representatives when she won the Tasmanian seat of Darwin.
She served in the Federal Parliament for eight years before retiring because of ill health.
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