[2] After becoming a midshipman in 1880, de Chair was posted aboard HMS Alexandra, the flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet and took part in the bombardment of Alexandria during the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882.

[4] De Chair had volunteered to carry despatches to a desert fort during the bombardment but was taken prisoner and presented before the revolutionary leader Ahmed 'Urabi and gained significant publicity back home in England.

[11] He served in the First World War as commander of the 10th Cruiser Squadron from 1914 and, having been promoted to rear admiral on 31 July 1912,[12] became Naval Adviser to the Foreign Office on Blockade Affairs in 1916.

[3] De Chair later recalled in his memoirs that he unloaded his frustrations and offence at the matter onto Jellicoe's successor, Sir Rosslyn Wemyss and found himself outside of preferment for advancement as a result.

[3] Moved sideways to the much less prestigious position of Admiral Commanding, Coastguard and Reserves in July 1918, de Chair became president of the Inter-allied Commission on Enemy Warships in 1921 before retiring in 1923.

The Legislative Council, comprising members appointed by the Governor for life terms, had long been seen by Lang and the Labor Party as an outdated bastion of conservative privilege holding back their reform agenda.

Although previous Labor premiers had managed to work with the status quo, such as requesting appointments from the Governor sufficient to pass certain bills, Lang's more radical political agenda required more drastic action to ensure its passage.