Editing Chris Watson (section)

==Later life==
===Political activities===
In the [[Australian Labor Party split of 1916]], numerous Labor MPs were expelled from the party for supporting [[World War I conscription in Australia]]. Watson sided with ex-Labor Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]] and the conscriptionists and had his party membership terminated as a result. Watson remained active in the affairs of Hughes' [[Nationalist Party of Australia|Nationalist Party]] until 1922, but after that he drifted out of politics altogether.<ref name=apmao>{{cite web
  | title =Chris Watson, After office
  | publisher =[[National Archives of Australia]]
  | work =Australia's Prime Ministers
  | url =http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/watson/after-office.aspx
  | access-date =10 February 2010
  | archive-date =24 September 2009
  | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090924034537/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/watson/after-office.aspx
  | url-status =dead
  }}</ref>

In 1931 he was state president of the [[Australian Industries Protection League]] and supported the [[James Scullin|Scullin government]]'s high-tariff policies.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=148}}

===Business activities===
[[File:Chris Watson, 1915 (John Longstaff).png|thumb|upright|[[Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]] portrait of Watson by [[John Longstaff]], 1915]]
In December 1910, Watson was recruited by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen to lead a gold-seeking expedition in South Africa. He also engaged in land speculation in [[Sutherland, New South Wales|Sutherland]], but development did not occur rapidly enough. He was appointed as a director of Labor Papers Limited, the publisher of the AWU's official newspaper ''[[The Australian Worker]]''.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=120}}

Watson joined the council of the newly established [[NRMA#National Roads Association|National Roads Association]] (NRA) in March 1920,<ref name=adb/> and in August was elected as the association's inaugural president. The NRA was intended as a [[peak body]] for New South Wales motorists, lobbying the state government to create a [[Department of Main Roads (New South Wales)|Main Roads Board]] and borrow money to improve local highways. It was initially hampered by its small membership and lack of financial resources, with a budget of only £15 per week.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=143}} Watson was able to attract publicity through the launch of a magazine and a successful campaign to raise [[speed limits]]. He was again chosen as president in 1923 when the NRA was reorganised into the [[NRMA]],{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=144}} and would retain the position for the rest of his life.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=151}} By the end of the following year the organisation had grown from 550 to 5,000 members. It subsequently expanded into vehicle insurance and [[Road trip|motor touring]], acquiring a series of properties for camping.{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=144}} As well as his involvement with the NRMA, Watson also was a director of a taxi company, Yellow Cabs of Australia, and as chairman of the state government's Traffic Advisory Committee. In 1936, he became the inaugural chairman of petrol retailer [[Ampol]].{{sfn|Grassby|Ordonez|1999|p=148}}