Frank Finnan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister for Labour and Industry andMinister for Social Welfare | |
| In office 9 March 1948 – 23 February 1953 | |
| Premier | William McKell James McGirr Joseph Cahill |
| Preceded by | Jack Baddeley |
| Succeeded by | Abe Landa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1897-09-23)23 September 1897 The Rocks, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 21 March 1966(1966-03-21) (aged 68) Waratah, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Labor Party |
Francis Joseph FinnanCBE (23 September 1897 – 21 March 1966) was an Australian politician and a member of theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1941 until 1953. He was a member of theLabor Party and held numerous ministerial positions between 1947 and 1953.
Finnan was born inThe Rocks and was educated atSt Aloysius' College (Sydney). He initially worked as a shearer in Queensland and was an official in theAustralian Workers' Union. By 1930, Finnan had returned to Sydney and was involved in the management of Labor papers includingCommon Cause and theLabor Daily.[1]
He was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as the Labor member forHawkesbury at the1941 state election. The sittingUnited Australia Party member,Bruce Walker Jr, didn't stand as he was on trial for conspiracy charges,[2] and Finnan's victory helped Labor gain a majority at the election. He held the seat at the next 2 elections but a redistribution prior to the1950 state election made the seat unwinnable for Labor.[3] During the premierships ofJames McGirr andJoseph Cahill, Finnan held numerous ministerial positions includingMinister for Tourism, andMinister for Labour and Industry andSocial Welfare.[4]
Finnan successfully stood for the new seat ofDarlinghurst at the 1950 election. Darlinghurst was abolished in the 1952 redistribution,[5] he lost the preselection contest forConcord,[6] and was unsuccessful in an attempt to win the seat ofAlbury. He then retired from state politics and was granted retention of the "Honourable" title for life byQueen Elizabeth II.[7][8]
Finnan then moved toNewcastle where he was appointed by Premier Cahill as president of theHunter District Water Board.[9] In 1960, he was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).[10] Reappointed in 1960, when he reached the statutory retiring age in 1962, the government passed special legislation enabling him to continue for another term, serving a further two years before retiring in 1964.[11][12]
Finnan was a council-member (1959–66) ofNewcastle University College (University of Newcastle from 1965), chairman of the Hunter Valley Research Foundation, a member of the Newcastle Regional Development Committee and of the Newcastle International Sports Centre Trust, and a director of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Waratah. Finnan was a patient of the same hospital and died there in 1966.[1]
Finnan Oval inBlackalls Park,Lake Macquarie, is named after him on land owned byHunter Water.[13]
| New South Wales Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member for Hawkesbury 1941 – 1950 | Succeeded by |
| New district | Member for Darlinghurst 1950 – 1953 | District abolished |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister in Charge of Tourist Activities Immigration 1947 – 1948 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Labour and Industry andSocial Welfare 1948 – 1953 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Charles George Schroder | President of theHunter District Water Board 1953 – 1964 | Succeeded by Frank Keith Duncan |
