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Browsing: Australian Labor Party

GEORGES, George (1920–2002)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1968–87 (Australian Labor Party; Independent)</span>

GEORGES, George (1920–2002)
Senator for Queensland, 1968–87 (Australian Labor Party; Independent)

George Georgouras was born in Darwin on 15 April 1920, the fourth of seven children of Athanasios Georgouras and his wife Panayiota, née Stergoulis. Athanasios came from Castellorizo, an isolated island off the southeast coast of Greece with a ‘difficult and tragic history’ of political troubles that led many of its inhabitants to flee to Australia. He immigrated to Australia in 1912 and started

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GIBBS, Brenda (1947– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1996–2002 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GIBBS, Brenda (1947– )
Senator for Queensland, 1996–2002 (Australian Labor Party)

Brenda Gibbs’ term as a senator for Queensland began in the wake of a bitter pre-selection contest and the death of her 28-year-old son. In a way, it finished as it began, as the result of a factional quarrel over the federal seat of Petrie. In the interim, the senator was a strong advocate for the vulnerable and disadvantaged. Born on 3 September 1947

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GIBBS, William Albion (1879–1944)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1925 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GIBBS, William Albion (1879–1944)
Senator for New South Wales, 1925 (Australian Labor Party)

The Commonwealth Parliamentary handbook’sphotograph of Senator Gibbs shows a dapper figure, replete with Homburg. Gibbs was selected by the New South Wales Parliament to fill the Senate casual vacancy created by the sudden death of John Power, who had been selected after the death of Allan McDougall. Gibbs’ tenure covered less than eight months—from 1 April to 13 November 1925. His departure was marked

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GIETZELT, Arthur Thomas (1920–2014)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1971–89 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GIETZELT, Arthur Thomas (1920–2014)
Senator for New South Wales, 1971–89 (Australian Labor Party)

Arthur Gietzelt was a senator for New South Wales from 1971 until his resignation on 27 February 1989. He was a member of the left faction of the Australian Labor Party with a reputation as a ‘legendary numbers man’ because of his success at organising votes within the New South Wales state branch and the federal parliamentary party. Arthur Thomas Gietzelt was born on

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GILES, Patricia Jessie (1928–2017)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1981–93 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GILES, Patricia Jessie (1928–2017)
Senator for Western Australia, 1981–93 (Australian Labor Party)

Pat Giles was born Patricia Jessie White, daughter of Eustace Frederick White, car salesman, shop keeper and accountant, and his wife Marjorie Eva, née Norris, schoolteacher, on 16 November 1928 at Minlaton, South Australia. The family moved to Melbourne, but the marriage was ‘violent and unhappy’. Marjorie and Pat returned to Adelaide in 1931, shortly before Marjorie gave birth to her second daughter. Marjorie

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GIVENS, Henry Thomas (1864–1928)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1904–28 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

GIVENS, Henry Thomas (1864–1928)
Senator for Queensland, 1904–28 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Henry Thomas Givens, cane-cutter, miner, journalist and President of the Senate for thirteen years, arrived in Australia in 1882. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, on 12 June 1864,the son of a farmer, Robert Givens, and his wife, Mary Ann, née White. Once in the Antipodes, young Thomas travelled north to Queensland, where he worked on the cane fields. For a period, he

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GRAHAM, Charles Montague (1867–1938)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GRAHAM, Charles Montague (1867–1938)
Senator for Western Australia, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)

Charles Montague Graham came to politics via ‘tailoring’ on the Western Australian goldfields. Born in 1867 at Christchurch, New Zealand, eldest son of Patrick Graham, horse trainer, Charles Montague was educated and trained as a tailor in New Zealand. In his early twenties, he migrated to the Australian goldfields and by 1892 had set up as a tailor in Pell Street, Broken Hill. He

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GRANT, Donald MacLennan (1888–1970)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1944–59 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GRANT, Donald MacLennan (1888–1970)
Senator for New South Wales, 1944–59 (Australian Labor Party)

Described as ‘one of the men who gave fire and colour to the Labor tradition’, Donald MacLennan Grant was born at Inverness, Scotland, on 26 February 1888, son of Donald Grant, an insurance agent, and his wife Mary, née McLennan.[1] He was educated in Inverness, left school at twelve and was later apprenticed as a dental mechanic. Grant became involved in socialist politics at

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GRANT, John (1857–1928)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1914–20, 1923–28 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GRANT, John (1857–1928)
Senator for New South Wales, 1914–20, 1923–28 (Australian Labor Party)

Described by a Senate colleague as ‘the most ardent high priest of land values taxation that this country possesses’, John Grant, stonemason and labour activist, was born in 1857 in Abernethy, Scotland, to crofter parents, Gregor and Margaret. After completing his apprenticeship as a stonemason in Glasgow, he migrated to Australia, probably in 1880. Soon prominent in the Stonemasons’ Union in Sydney, he was

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GRIMES, Donald James (1937–2021)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1974–87 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GRIMES, Donald James (1937–2021)
Senator for Tasmania, 1974–87 (Australian Labor Party)

Donald James (Don) Grimes was born in Albury, New South Wales, on 4 October 1937. He was the only son and eldest of two surviving children of Walter John Grimes, a fitter and turner with New South Wales Railways, and his wife Annie Mildred (Nancy), née O’Neill, who was a nurse before her marriage. Nancy Grimes died of bowel cancer when Don was in

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GUTHRIE, Robert Storrie (1856–1921)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1903–21 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

GUTHRIE, Robert Storrie (1856–1921)
Senator for South Australia, 1903–21 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Robert Storrie Guthrie, seaman and trade unionist, was born at Partick, near Glasgow, Scotland, on 17 November 1856. He was the son of Andrew Guthrie, a joiner, and his wife Elizabeth, née Storrie. He was educated at Glen’s School, Glasgow. At the age of fifteen, Guthrie became a ship’s apprentice. In 1876, he arrived in Australia, only staying a short time before leaving for

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GUY, James (1860–1921)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1914–20 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GUY, James (1860–1921)
Senator for Tasmania, 1914–20 (Australian Labor Party)

James Guy’s Protestant theology and his place in a labour movement influenced by Tasmanian social democracy (as opposed to the more radical labourism of the Australian mainland) must be taken into account in assessing the events of his political career. Guy was born in Launceston, Tasmania, on 13 November 1860, the eldest of the twelve children of Andrew, storeman, and Margaret, née Polock. He

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HANNAN, Joseph Francis (1873–1943)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1924–25 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

HANNAN, Joseph Francis (1873–1943)
Senator for Victoria, 1924–25 (Australian Labor Party)

Joseph Francis Hannan served in Parliament and the union movement at a time when such an association was electorally risky. Hannan was born probably in 1875, the son of James Hannan and Jane, née Hayes. The family arrived in Australia from the United Kingdom about 1888. After two years as a stable hand, Joseph took up his father’s trade of pipe moulder and steel

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HARRIS, John (1890–1974)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1947–51, 1953–59 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

HARRIS, John (1890–1974)
Senator for Western Australia, 1947–51, 1953–59 (Australian Labor Party)

John Harris, blacksmith and union official, was born at Granville, New South Wales, on 3 December 1890. His father, also John Harris, hailed from south Wales in the United Kingdom, and his mother, Amy Florence, née Ellis, was born in Adelaide, South Australia. When John was about ten years old the Harris family moved to Perth, where he completed his primary education at Cottesloe

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HEARN, Jean Margaret (1921– 2017 )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, (1980–85) (Australian Labor Party)</span>

HEARN, Jean Margaret (1921– 2017 )
Senator for Tasmania, (1980–85) (Australian Labor Party)

Jean Margaret Button (later Hearn), was born in Launceston, Tasmania, on 30 March 1921. Jean was the eldest of four children of Elton Roy Button, a draper, and his English-born wife Emily Gertrude, née Barrow. The family lived at Smithton on the north-west coast. Jean attended the local primary school and then Methodist Ladies’ College (now Scotch Oakburn College), Launceston. On 28 September 1940,

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HENDERSON, Christopher George (1857–1933)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1904–23 (Australian Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

HENDERSON, Christopher George (1857–1933)
Senator for Western Australia, 1904–23 (Australian Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Christopher George Henderson was born at Bedlington, Northumberland, England, on 19 August 1857, to George Henderson of Rothesay, Scotland, and Jane, née Short. At the time of her son’s birth, Jane could neither read nor write. Christoper George began his working life at the age of eight or nine years as a pony boy in a Northumberland coal mine. At fifteen, he became a

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HENDRICKSON, Albion (1897–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1947–71 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

HENDRICKSON, Albion (1897–1977)
Senator for Victoria, 1947–71 (Australian Labor Party)

Albion (‘Bert’) Hendrickson, who hailed from the region surrounding Maryborough in Victoria, was born on 17 December 1897 at Adelaide Lead, a small mining community. His father was Peter Hendrickson, a miner, and his mother was Mary, née Broad, formerly Robinson. It is likely that Bert attended Maryborough State School, at least for a short time, later joining the Victorian Railways as a porter.

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HIGGS, William Guy (1862–1951)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1901–06 (Labor Party)</span>

HIGGS, William Guy (1862–1951)
Senator for Queensland, 1901–06 (Labor Party)

The career of W. G. Higgs, printer and journalist, was characterised by a determination to form his own beliefs and to remain constant to them. His idealism and independence, which helped to formulate the earliest policies of the Labor Party, saw him often in conflict with the Party in later years. William Guy Higgs was born on 18 January 1862 at Wingham, a small

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HOARE, Albert Alfred (1874–1962)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1922–35 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

HOARE, Albert Alfred (1874–1962)
Senator for South Australia, 1922–35 (Australian Labor Party)

The Hoare family was early represented in South Australia, the first white child born in Adelaide reputedly being of that name. Albert Alfred Hoare[1] was born at Alberton, near Port Adelaide, on 22 November 1874, the son of Edward Hoare, labourer, and Mary, née Kempt. His was the first generation of South Australians to benefit from the introduction of free, secular and compulsory education

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JONES, Gerry Norman Francis (1932–2017)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1981–96 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

JONES, Gerry Norman Francis (1932–2017)
Senator for Queensland, 1981–96 (Australian Labor Party)

Norman Francis (Gerry) Jones was born on 16 August 1932 at Roma, Queensland, the younger of two sons of William Norman Harcourt Jones, railway worker, and his wife Kathleen Alice, née Moore, a tailor. When he was growing up, his father insisted that he should be known as Gerry and later in life he formalised that name by deed-poll. He attended St Columba’s School,

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KATZ, Frederick Carl (1877–1960)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

KATZ, Frederick Carl (1877–1960)
Senator for Victoria, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)

Frederick Carl Katz was born in Adelaide on 21 May 1877, the son of Carl August, a goldsmith and jeweller, and Jane, née Wiltshire. Carl (or Charles, as he became known) was a French-born German who arrived in Adelaide on board the Northern Monarch in 1876. Fred’s family moved to Victoria in the late 1880s, and settled in Melbourne. In 1899 Fred was working

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KEANE, Richard Valentine (1881–1946)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1938-46 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

KEANE, Richard Valentine (1881–1946)
Senator for Victoria, 1938-46 (Australian Labor Party)

Richard Valentine Keane, railways clerk, union leader, Minister for Trade and Customs and Leader of the Government in the Senate, was born at Beechworth, Victoria, on 14 February 1881. He was the son of Timothy Keane, police constable, born in County Kerry, Ireland, and his wife Hanorah, née O’Sullivan, born in County Tipperary. An uncle had fought as a brevet major in the American

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KEEFFE, James Bernard (1919–1988)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1965–83 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

KEEFFE, James Bernard (1919–1988)
Senator for Queensland, 1965–83 (Australian Labor Party)

James Bernard Keeffe, champion of Indigenous Australians and the Deep North, was always proud of his Irish heritage. His great-grandfather had emigrated from County Tipperary in 1841 and settled in the Queanbeyan district of New South Wales. Jim’s father, also James Keeffe, moved to Sydney, and then to northern Queensland where he worked as a canecutter, coffee planter and tin miner. He married Augusta

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KENNELLY, Patrick John (1900–1981)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1953–71 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

KENNELLY, Patrick John (1900–1981)
Senator for Victoria, 1953–71 (Australian Labor Party)

Patrick John (Pat) Kennelly’s best-known maxim, repeated with variations over the years, typified his political life. He said that if he had to make a choice in politics between logic and numbers, he would come down on the side of the numbers. Known as the kingmaker, Kennelly, a machine man par excellence, became a legendary figure in the ALP, one whose influence extended well

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KNEEBONE, Henry (1876–1933)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1931 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

KNEEBONE, Henry (1876–1933)
Senator for South Australia, 1931 (Australian Labor Party)

Henry Kneebone followed a socialist-Christian tradition reminiscent of British social reformers like Robert Owen and William Morris. His daughter wrote that ‘he was a Socialist in the sense that he considered Jesus Christ was a Socialist’. Described as ‘burly in figure, genial and generous in spirit’, and a man of ‘distinguished appearance and upright bearing’, Henry (Harry) Kneebone was born at Wallaroo Mines, South

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LACEY, Robert Herbert (1900–1984)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1965–71 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

LACEY, Robert Herbert (1900–1984)
Senator for Tasmania, 1965–71 (Australian Labor Party)

Robert Herbert (Bert) Lacey was born on 12 January 1900 at Maryborough, Victoria, one of six children of Herbert Edwin, a labourer, and Ellen Eliza, née Finch. In 1985 the Senate heard a remarkable panegyric from Brian Harradine, who said that Lacey’s childhood included ‘periods of deprivation, hunger and bullying’. Harradine described Bert as ‘virtually an orphan’, who, after his mother died in 1911,

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LAMP, Charles Adcock (1895–1972)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1938–50 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

LAMP, Charles Adcock (1895–1972)
Senator for Tasmania, 1938–50 (Australian Labor Party)

Charles Adcock Lamp was born in Hobart on 3 September 1895. His father was John Frederick August Lamp, the son of a German naval storeman who deserted his ship and settled at York, in Adelaide, before moving to Linda Valley and Queenstown, Tasmania, where he worked in the mines. His mother was Rosina, ‘daughter of Mr Fewkes’. Charles was educated at a state school

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LARGE, William James (1878–1964)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1941–51 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

LARGE, William James (1878–1964)
Senator for New South Wales, 1941–51 (Australian Labor Party)

‘Like myself’, Senator Large, who was just over five feet, once remarked: ‘my contribution to this debate will be very brief’. What was even more worthy of remark was the manner of his being elected to the Senate in the first place. William James Large was born at Northfleet, in the County of Kent, on 28 March 1878, son of Sophia Large, née Lancaster,

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LONG, James Joseph (1870–1932)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1910–18 (Labor Party)</span>

LONG, James Joseph (1870–1932)
Senator for Tasmania, 1910–18 (Labor Party)

James Joseph (Big Jim) Long, miner, was born at Hamilton-on-Forth, on Tasmania’s north-west coast, in 1870, the son of Patrick, a farmer, and Maria, née Hannan. James was educated to primary level and at an early age joined those who sought their fortunes on the burgeoning west coast mine fields, first as prospector and later as mine employee. While on the coast, Long was

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LOOSLEY, Stephen (1952– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1990–95 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

LOOSLEY, Stephen (1952– )
Senator for New South Wales, 1990–95 (Australian Labor Party)

Born on 29 December 1952 in the working class suburb of Carlton in southern Sydney, Stephen Loosley was the son of clothing worker Bernard Alan Loosley and his wife Jean Elizabeth, née Pike. The eldest of three children, Stephen was educated at Carlton Public School before winning a place at the selective Sydney Technical High School in 1965. Between 1972 and 1975 he undertook

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LYNCH, Patrick Joseph (1867–1944)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1907–38 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

LYNCH, Patrick Joseph (1867–1944)
Senator for Western Australia, 1907–38 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Patrick Joseph Lynch, shearer, miner, seaman, engine-driver, trade unionist and farmer, was born on 24 May 1867 at Skearke, Moynalty, Kells, County Meath, Ireland, the youngest of eight children, to Michael Lynch, farmer, and his wife Bridget, née Cahill. Patrick’s family had farmed their 17-acre property for several generations. It was here in this close-knit rural community at the Newcastle end of Moynalty parish,

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MacDONALD, John Valentine (1880–1937)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1922, 1928, 1932–37 (Australian Labor Party; Federal Labor Party)</span>

MacDONALD, John Valentine (1880–1937)
Senator for Queensland, 1922, 1928, 1932–37 (Australian Labor Party; Federal Labor Party)

John Valentine MacDonald, journalist, was born on 14 February 1880 in Opotiki, New Zealand. He was the son of Norman, policeman and farmer, and Alice, née Davis, and grandson, on the paternal side, of John, a pioneer of the Victorian pastoral industry. MacDonald attended briefly state schools in New Zealand and New South Wales. From the age of eight he accompanied his nomadic father and

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MAGUIRE, Graham Ross (1945– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1983–93 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MAGUIRE, Graham Ross (1945– )
Senator for South Australia, 1983–93 (Australian Labor Party)

Like a number of Labor members in federal Parliament between 1983 and 1996, Graham Maguire had the good fortune to experience elected politics entirely from the vantage point of government. He entered the Senate well-prepared and throughout his term his steadfast focus on policy issues, especially economic and electoral issues, marked him as a serious thinker who earned the respect of all sides. The

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MAUGHAN, William John Ryott (1863–1933)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1913–20 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MAUGHAN, William John Ryott (1863–1933)
Senator for Queensland, 1913–20 (Australian Labor Party)

Editor to state politician, Labor functionary to senator, William John Ryott Maughan was born on 8 January 1863 at Whitechapel, London, the son of the Rev. Joseph Maughan and Selina Gedge, née Pace. Maughan’s father, who had been ordained as an Anglican clergyman in 1860, was associate secretary of the Colonial and Continental Church Society, and author of Pastoral Addresses.By 1867, he was vicar

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McAULIFFE, Ronald Edward (1918–1988)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1971–81 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McAULIFFE, Ronald Edward (1918–1988)
Senator for Queensland, 1971–81 (Australian Labor Party)

Ronald Edward McAuliffe, rugby league administrator and politician, was born in Brisbane on 25 July 1918. He was adopted by Edward McAuliffe, a railway fettler, and Margaret Ann, née Fogarty. The McAuliffes were a large family, living in a small workman’s cottage in Rainbow Street that backed on to the Sandgate to Shorncliffe railway line. Ron was educated at Sandgate’s Sacred Heart convent school

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McCLELLAND, Douglas (1926– ) <br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1962–87 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McCLELLAND, Douglas (1926– )
Senator for New South Wales, 1962–87 (Australian Labor Party)

Douglas McClelland was born on 5 August 1926, in Wentworthville, NSW, the son of Alfred McClelland, union organiser and farmer, and his wife Gertrude Amy, née Cooksley. Alfred was a NSW Labor MLA for the seats of Northern Tablelands (1920–27) and Dubbo (1930–32). Douglas was educated at Wentworthville Public School, Parramatta High School and the Metropolitan Business College, Parramatta. After leaving school he worked

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McClelland, James Robert (1915–1999)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1971–78 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McClelland, James Robert (1915–1999)
Senator for New South Wales, 1971–78 (Australian Labor Party)

James Robert (Jim) McClelland was born on 3 June 1915 in Melbourne, the son of Robert William McClelland, painter, paperhanger and signwriter, who was of Ulster Protestant background, and Florence Ruby, née O’Connor, a Catholic. James’ early childhood was spent at Glen Iris, Melbourne, but in 1925 his father, who worked for the Victorian Railways, was transferred to Ballarat, where the family lived for

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McDOUGALL, Allan (1857–1924)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1910–20, 1922–24 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McDOUGALL, Allan (1857–1924)
Senator for New South Wales, 1910–20, 1922–24 (Australian Labor Party)

Allan McDougall, boilermaker, was born at Pyrmont, New South Wales, on 2 August 1857, son of Allan McDougall and his wife Catherine, née Keith. Educated to primary school level, he became an apprentice at the Australian Steam Navigation Company, where his father was foreman boilermaker. Later, the young McDougall moved to Mort’s Dock where he worked beside John Storey and other pioneers of the

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McGREGOR, Gregor (1848–1914)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1901–14 (Labor Party)</span>

McGREGOR, Gregor (1848–1914)
Senator for South Australia, 1901–14 (Labor Party)

Gregor McGregor, stonemason, builder’s labourer, trade unionist and first Labor leader of the Senate, was described by a Senate colleague as having ‘a grim, pawky Scottish brand of humour with a certain bad boy flavour about it’.[1]McGregor was born on 18 March 1848, son of Malcolm McGregor, gardener, and his wife Jane, in Kilmun, Argyllshire, Scotland. Gregor spent his childhood in Scotland and County

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McHUGH, Charles Stephen (1887–1927)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1923–27 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McHUGH, Charles Stephen (1887–1927)
Senator for South Australia, 1923–27 (Australian Labor Party)

Charles Stephen McHugh, trade union official, was born in Adelaide, South Australia, on 23 April 1887, the son of Edward McHugh, an ostler and labourer, and Annie, née McNamara. He was educated at Adelaide Christian Brothers College, a contemporary remembering him as ‘reticent [and] self‑contained’,[1] but also highly articulate. McHugh was an accomplished athlete in his early years, but his strongest interests at school

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McINTOSH, Gordon Douglas (1925–2019)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1974–87 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McINTOSH, Gordon Douglas (1925–2019)
Senator for Western Australia, 1974–87 (Australian Labor Party)

Gordon Douglas McIntosh was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 29 May 1925, the son of Gordon McIntosh, ship’s stoker and swimming pool attendant, and his wife Dorothy Robson, née Douglas. Attending Drumoyne Primary School and Govan High School, he was apprenticed in 1940 as a fitter and turner, starting work in the Glasgow shipyards before serving as a mechanic with the Royal Air Force

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McKENNA, Nicholas Edward (1895–1974)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1944–68 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McKENNA, Nicholas Edward (1895–1974)
Senator for Tasmania, 1944–68 (Australian Labor Party)

Nicholas Edward McKenna was born at Carlton, Victoria, on 9 September 1895. His father, John McKenna, born in Ireland, was a prison warder who later became deputy governor of Pentridge gaol. His mother, Alice, née Darcy, came from Geelong. Nick, as he was known, was educated at St Joseph’s Christian Brothers College in North Melbourne. From 1912 to 1924 he worked as a public

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McKIERNAN, James Philip (1944–2018)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1985–2002 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McKIERNAN, James Philip (1944–2018)
Senator for Western Australia, 1985–2002 (Australian Labor Party)

James Philip (Jim) McKiernan, the third of eight children of James and Mary (Maisie) McKiernan, was born on 11 October 1944 in Cavan, Ireland. From the age of six he attended De La Salle College run by the Christian Brothers but left at the age of twelve, blaming brutal and humiliating treatment that he had received at the hands of one of the brothers.

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McKISSOCK, Andrew Nelson (1872–1919)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1914–17 (Labor Party)</span>

McKISSOCK, Andrew Nelson (1872–1919)
Senator for Victoria, 1914–17 (Labor Party)

Andrew Nelson McKissock, adventurer, compositor and trade unionist, was born on 6 December 1872 in Ballarat East, the son of John McKissock, butcher, and Helen, née Rattray. After attending a local school, he was apprenticed to F.W. Niven as a compositor. As a young man, he became deeply interested in the trade union movement. He joined the Typographical Society, and in 1900 became adelegate

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McLAREN, Geoffrey Thomas (1921–1992)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1971–83 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McLAREN, Geoffrey Thomas (1921–1992)
Senator for South Australia, 1971–83 (Australian Labor Party)

During his twelve years in the Senate, Geoff McLaren, an ‘old-fashioned’ Laborite, gained a reputation on both sides of politics as a very hard worker who took part in the Senate’s proceedings with great gusto. If not especially influential, he was never inconspicuous. Senator Watson once cited McLaren’s daily habit of reading the whole of the previous day’s Hansard, a practice, Watson considered, that

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MELZER, Jean Isabel (1926–2013)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Victoria, 1974–81 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MELZER, Jean Isabel (1926–2013)
Senator for Victoria, 1974–81 (Australian Labor Party)

Jean Isabel Melzer, the first woman in the Australian Labor Party to be elected to the Senate from Victoria, was born in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick, on 7 February 1926. She was the eldest of the three daughters of George Kenneth McLeod and Lilian Rosa, née Ford. Jean was educated at state schools at Ormond and Ormond East, Gardenvale Central School, and from

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MILLINER, Bertie Richard (1911–1975)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1968–75 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MILLINER, Bertie Richard (1911–1975)
Senator for Queensland, 1968–75 (Australian Labor Party)

Bertie Richard Milliner was born in Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, on 17 July 1911. He was the sixth son of Arthur, a glazier, and Ellen, née Batchelor. Educated at Kelvin Grove Boys’ State School from 1918 until 1925, Milliner spent his entire life in the inner west Brisbane suburbs of Kelvin Grove and Newmarket. On 26 March 1938 he married a schoolteacher, Thelma Elizabeth Voght,

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MORRIS, John Joseph (1936–2013)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1985–90 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MORRIS, John Joseph (1936–2013)
Senator for New South Wales, 1985–90 (Australian Labor Party)

John Joseph Morris was born at Young Wallsend (now known as Edgeworth, a suburb of Newcastle), NSW, on 12 June 1936, the youngest of six children of Thomas Wallace Hope Morris, a boilermaker, and his wife Minnie Doreen, née Gavin. His paternal grandfather, also Thomas Morris, had served as an alderman of Fairfield Municipal Council and was described as ‘a keen follower of the

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MORROW, William (1888–1980)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1947–53 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MORROW, William (1888–1980)
Senator for Tasmania, 1947–53 (Australian Labor Party)

William (Bill) Morrow, railwayman, union official and peace activist, was born on 22 October 1888 at Rockhampton, Queensland, the fourth of eleven children of William Morrow, railwayman, and his wife Amelia, née Greenhalgh. When Bill was nine the family, who had lived in various towns and camps in central Queensland, moved north to Mareeba, where Morrow senior was employed as a permanent-way inspector on

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MULLAN, John (1871–1941)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Queensland, 1913–17 (Labor Party)</span>

MULLAN, John (1871–1941)
Senator for Queensland, 1913–17 (Labor Party)

John Mullan, ‘a small, pugnacious figure, with a Paderewski-like mop of curly black hair’, impressed his contemporaries as ‘a fluent and somewhat combative debater, with a sprightly Irish wit . . . as nimble and elusive in the dialectical wrestling bouts of the debating floor as the fabled leprechaun of Irish folk-lore’.[1] Mullan was born in Loughlinstown, near Dublin, Ireland, on 8 September 1871,

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MULVIHILL, James Anthony (1917–2000)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1965–83 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MULVIHILL, James Anthony (1917–2000)
Senator for New South Wales, 1965–83 (Australian Labor Party)

James Anthony (Tony) Mulvihill, railwayman, party official, and environmentalist, was born in North Ryde, Sydney, on 27 April 1917. He was the only child of James Bernard (Jim) Mulvihill and Agnes Ellen, née McNamara. His father, Jim, worked for most of his life at the gasworks at Mortlake, at that time a community with many Irish and English gas and railway workers. He was

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MURPHY, Lionel Keith (1922–1986)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1962–75 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MURPHY, Lionel Keith (1922–1986)
Senator for New South Wales, 1962–75 (Australian Labor Party)

Lionel Keith Murphy was the most divisive figure in the history of the Senate. His supporters saw him as inspirational: an enlightened and bold reformer whose unceasing mental and physical energy achieved much of permanent value. Opponents regarded him as dangerous, reckless and lacking in fundamental political nous. Doubts about Murphy’s judgment were also held privately by some members of his own party. Years

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MURRAY, Reginald James (1906–1962)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

MURRAY, Reginald James (1906–1962)
Senator for Tasmania, 1947–51 (Australian Labor Party)

Reginald James Murray was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 27 April 1906 to Walter James Murray, a commercial traveller, and Nellie, née Miller. Walter Murray’s birthplace was Edinburgh; Nellie was born in Hobart. After Reginald’s birth, the family moved to Brisbane, Queensland, and later to Hobart, Tasmania, where Reg (as he came to be known) developed the ‘natural curiosity . . . of

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NASH, Richard Harry (1890–1951)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1943–51 (Australan Labor Party)</span>

NASH, Richard Harry (1890–1951)
Senator for Western Australia, 1943–51 (Australan Labor Party)

Richard Harry Nash was born on 2 July 1890 in Ascot Vale, Victoria, to Harry Avers Nash, a storeman, and Elizabeth Phoebe, née Stroud, who had emigrated from England. In 1897 Dick, as he was known, and his parents arrived in Kalgoorlie. After attending Lake View State School near Boulder, he trained as a junior mechanic, but in 1904 joined the staff of the

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NEEDHAM, Edward (1874–1956)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1907–20, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

NEEDHAM, Edward (1874–1956)
Senator for Western Australia, 1907–20, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)

Edward (Ted) Needham was born at Ormskirk in Lancashire, probably on 30 September 1874. His parents were Patrick Needham, a labourer, and Margaret, née Fahy, both of Irish Roman Catholic background. Ted Needham was very short of stature. During his years in the Senate, he and another Labor senator, Arthur Rae, used to ridicule each other’s lack of height. Once, when asked by a

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NEWLANDS, Sir John (1864–1932)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1913–32 (Australian Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

NEWLANDS, Sir John (1864–1932)
Senator for South Australia, 1913–32 (Australian Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

John Newlands, railwayman, advocate for the Northern Territory and President of the Senate at the opening of Parliament House in Canberra in 1927, was born on 4 August 1864, at Dallaschyle, near Cawdor, Nairnshire, Scotland, the son of an agricultural labourer, Andrew Newlands, and his wife, Ann. John used the name ‘Newland’ until May 1926 when he changed his name by deed poll to

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NICHOLLS, Theophilus Martin (1894–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1944–68 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

NICHOLLS, Theophilus Martin (1894–1977)
Senator for South Australia, 1944–68 (Australian Labor Party)

Theophilus Martin (Theo) Nicholls, lifelong unionist and traditional Labor man with practical sense and a visionary streak, was born on 21 August 1894, at Wilmington, South Australia, the eighth child of Martin Nicholls, a miner, and Elizabeth, née Gum. When he was three, the family moved to Port Pirie. As a young man, he worked at Broken Hill for four years, from about 1908.

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O’FLAHERTY, Sidney Wainman (1886–1967)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1944–62 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

O’FLAHERTY, Sidney Wainman (1886–1967)
Senator for South Australia, 1944–62 (Australian Labor Party)

A Labor man who believed in ‘the gospel of socialism’, and who affirmed that it had been his lifelong theme to obtain social justice for the workers, Sid O’Flaherty was once expelled from the South Australian Labor Party. A decade later he was the party’s state president, a member of the Federal Executive, and number one on the ticket for the Senate, where he

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O’HALLORAN, Michael Raphael (1893–1960)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1928–35 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

O’HALLORAN, Michael Raphael (1893–1960)
Senator for South Australia, 1928–35 (Australian Labor Party)

Michael Raphael O’Halloran, who travelled the outback to meet and make friends with swagmen, labourers, railway men and graziers, once said that it was easy ‘for a man to be a politician’, but ‘hard for a politician to be a man’. He was born on 12 April 1893 at Yanyarrie, near Carrieton in South Australia. His father, James Andrew O’Halloran, was a farmer of

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O’KEEFE, David John (1864–1943)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1901–06, 1910–20 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

O’KEEFE, David John (1864–1943)
Senator for Tasmania, 1901–06, 1910–20 (Australian Labor Party)

In May 1901, the Melbourne Age in describing the men of the new Federal Parliament referred to Senator O’Keefe of Tasmania as ‘a moderate Labor representative, a moderate protectionist and a moderate believer in many other things’.[1]David John O’Keefe was born, probably on 21 August 1864, at Longford, Tasmania, to David John O’Keefe, farmer, and Mary Ann, née McCullagh. After leaving Carrick State School

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O’LOGHLIN, James Vincent (1852–1925)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for South Australia, 1907, 1913–20, 1923–25 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

O’LOGHLIN, James Vincent (1852–1925)
Senator for South Australia, 1907, 1913–20, 1923–25 (Australian Labor Party)

James Vincent O’Loghlin, the only senator to be on active service in World War I, was born at Gumeracha, in the Adelaide Hills, on 25 November 1852, the son of James O’Loghlin and his wife Susan, née Kennedy. His father, who was a farmer, had emigrated to South Australia from County Clare, Ireland, in 1840. O’Loghlin spent the first half of his life in

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O’BYRNE, Justin Hilary (1912–1993)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1947–81 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

O’BYRNE, Justin Hilary (1912–1993)
Senator for Tasmania, 1947–81 (Australian Labor Party)

Justin Hilary O’Byrne was a World War II fighter pilot and prisoner of war, and President of the Senate during the 1975 constitutional crisis. He was born on 1 June 1912 in Launceston, Tasmania, the seventh of ten children. His father, Patrick Augustus O’Byrne, a wine and spirit merchant in Launceston, was the son of Irish migrants who had settled at Westbury. His mother,

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OGDEN, James Ernest (1868–1932)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Tasmania, 1923–32 (Australian Labor Party; Independent; Nationalist Party)</span>

OGDEN, James Ernest (1868–1932)
Senator for Tasmania, 1923–32 (Australian Labor Party; Independent; Nationalist Party)

James Ernest Ogden, miner, unionist and man of independent spirit, was born at Durdidwarrah, near Geelong, Victoria, on 8 March 1868, son of Robert Ogden, miner and farmer, and Hannah, née Fenby. Educated at Steiglitz State School, James later worked for his father growing grain and raising pigs, and also began training as a primary schoolteacher, though he never practised as a teacher due

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ORMONDE, James Patrick (1901–1970)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for New South Wales, 1958–70 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

ORMONDE, James Patrick (1901–1970)
Senator for New South Wales, 1958–70 (Australian Labor Party)

James Patrick Ormonde, miner and journalist, was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, on 23 March 1901, the son of Jeremiah Ormonde and Bridget, née Reilly. Ormonde came to Australia with his family at an early age, and grew up in Kurri Kurri on the New South Wales northern coalfields. He was educated at Marist Brothers College, West Maitland. On leaving school, he became, like his

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