William Mahony (politician)

William George Mahony (1877 – 28 August 1962) was an Australian politician.

William Mahony
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Dalley
In office
6 May 1915 – 18 January 1927
Preceded byRobert Howe
Succeeded byTed Theodore
Personal details
Born1877
Ireland
Died28 August 1962 (aged 84–85)
NationalityIrish Australian
Political partyAustralian Labor Party
OccupationGrocer's assistant

Born in Ireland, Mahony migrated to Australia as a child. He was raised in Balmain, where he received a primary education before becoming a grocer's assistant. He was the first secretary of the Grocers' Assistants' Union, and was involved in its amalgamation into the Shop Assistants' Union.[1][2]

In the by-election that resulted from the death of Robert Howe in 1915, Mahony was elected unopposed to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Dalley. He held the seat until 1927, when he resigned and was succeeded by the former Premier of Queensland, Ted Theodore.[3] Following his resignation, he purchased a sub-lease of the Commercial Hotel at Balmain East in June 1927, but sold it again in November.[4][5][6]

A 1928 Royal Commission found that Mahony had been bribed to resign from the Parliament, probably by or for Theodore, but proof was never found.[7][8] Mahony had emphatically denied the allegations, and claimed that he had won the money gambling on horse-racing.[5] He attempted to make a comeback at the 1928 federal election, but was defeated for Labor preselection to contest a New South Wales seat in the Australian Senate.[9][10]

In 1929, Mahony was working as a casual assistant in the ambulance room at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard.[11] In the 1940s, Mahony was the industrial organiser for the Australian Red Cross.[12] His wife, Annie, died in 1942; their only son John died at 36 in 1946, and their daughter Amy in 1948. Mahony died in 1962.[3][12][13][14]

His brother, Robert Mahony, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.[15]

References
  1. "CANDIDATES". The Sydney Morning Herald (26, 490). 29 November 1922. p. 14. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "DALLEY BY-ELECTION". The Sydney Morning Herald (24, 127). 7 May 1915. p. 12. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  4. "PERSONAL". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 11 July 1927. p. 8. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "ALLEGED CORRUPTION". Queensland Times. LXVIII (13, 071) (DAILY ed.). 13 June 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "MAHONY FINDS REAL USE FOR HANSARD". Truth (2006). Sydney. 17 June 1928. p. 16. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "W. G. MAHONY". The Sun (5518) (FINAL EXTRA ed.). 16 July 1928. p. 11. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "POLITICAL GRAFT CHARGES UPHELD". The Australian Worker. 37 (29). 18 July 1928. p. 20. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "DUNN OR STOKES ?". The Sun (5479) (FINAL EXTRA ed.). 31 May 1928. p. 10. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "People in the News". Westralian Worker (1047). Western Australia. 31 August 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "COCKATOO CASUAL". The Sun (5946) (FINAL EXTRA ed.). 29 November 1929. p. 13. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "DEATH OF MRS. W. G. MAHONY". The Sun (10087) (LATE FINAL EXTRA ed.). 5 May 1942. p. 5. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald (33, 954). 19 October 1946. p. 32. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald (34, 896). 25 October 1949. p. 16. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. "NEW MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL". The Sydney Morning Herald (26, 101). 31 August 1921. p. 12. Retrieved 6 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
Robert Howe		 Member for Dalley
1915–1927		 Succeeded by
Ted Theodore


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