Joseph Cahill
John Joseph Cahill (21 January, 1891 – 22 October, 1959) was Premier of New South Wales from 1952 to 1959. He is best remembered as the Premier who approved construction on the Sydney Opera House, and for his work increasing the authority of local government in the state.
Joe Cahill as he was popularly known, was born in Redfern, and was educated at Marrickville Convent and the Patrician Brothers' College, both in Sydney. He became an apprentice at the Eveleigh workshops of the contemporary equivalent of NSW RailCorp in 1916.
Politically active even at the age of fifteen, he was even more politically active during his twenties. He opposed Conscription in 1916, and lost his railway job in 1917 after taking part in a workers' strike.
Cahill had difficulty finding permanent employment afterwards, working in many small jobs (including selling insurance for a year) until 1925, when he successfully ran for Parliament for the seat of St. George in New South Wales on an Australian Labor Party ticket.
After his election, he progressed through the ranks of the Labor Party, and in 1930 ran for the electorate of Arncliffe and was appointed party whip. He failed to be re-elected in 1932.
In 1935, Cahill returned to Parliament, again as Member for Arncliffe. He remained in Parliament for the rest of his career, although he switched his seat to Cook's River in 1941. He was also appointed Secretary for Public Works that year, and promoted in 1944 to Minister for Local Government, a position he would hold for eight years; he used this position to augment local governments' powers. In 1949, James McGirr appointed him as Deputy Premier.
Cahill succeeded McGirr as New South Wales Premier in 1952, and held the position until his death in office. He won the state elections of 1953, 1956, and 1959. It was in November 1954 that he first began to champion the idea of an opera house in Sydney, though the building was not completed and opened to the public until fourteen years after he had died.
His political skills, his determination to avoid another Jack Lang-style split in the party, and - in particular - his government's close alliance with Sydney's Catholic Archbishop Norman Cardinal Gilroy, ensured that Labor in New South Wales avoided the devastating divisions which forced the party out of office in Victoria, Western Australia, and Queensland during the 1950s Split.
In 1922 Cahill married Esme Kelly, with whom he had five children, one of whom, Thomas James Cahill, was similarly a Member of the Legislative Assembly. After his death at age 68, Joe Cahill was buried at ([[1]]) Rockwood Cemetery in Sydney.
Trivia
- Cahill was neither the first nor the last New South Wales Premier to die in office. He shares that dubious honour with eleven other people, listed on the NSW Parliament website.
- Cahill's time as Premier formed part of a 24-year period of Labor dominance in the state, stretching from 1941 - 1965
References
- World Book Encyclopedia, Australasian edition, 1966
- Mr John Joseph Cahill (former member) NSW Parliament factsheet
