Thomas Joseph Ryan Ryan had joined the Labor Party in 1904, becoming Premier in 1915 to 1919 and leader of the first Queensland Labor government with a clear majority in the Legislative Assembly. Ryan is well known for his stance against conscription during the World War I and particularly for the arwick Egg Incident?in 1917. During this incident Prime Minister Billy Hughes who supported conscription and was in the final days of the second conscription referendum campaign had his hat dislodged by eggs thrown from the crowd. The media at the time exaggerated the incident, implying that the Prime Minister had been assaulted and had received no assistance from the police officer in charge. This in turn was interpreted as evidence of the lawlessness of the Queensland government. Despite Hughes?best efforts to tarnish Ryan reputation and canvas support for conscription, the second referendum was defeated by a larger majority than the first and Ryan became a hero to the anti-conscription movement.