George Cann | |
|---|---|
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| Member of theAustralian Parliament forNepean | |
| In office 13 April 1910 – 31 May 1913 | |
| Preceded by | Eric Bowden |
| Succeeded by | Richard Orchard |
| Member of theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly forCanterbury | |
| In office 10 October 1914 – 1920 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Peters |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1871-05-30)30 May 1871 Cramlington,England |
| Died | 18 October 1948(1948-10-18) (aged 77) Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Labor |
| Spouse | |
| Occupation | Miner |
George Cann (30 May 1871 – 18 October 1948) was an Australian politician who served in both theParliament of Australia and theParliament of New South Wales. At state level he served as a minister in the governments ofJack Lang during the 1920s. He was a miner before entering politics.
Cann was born at Shankhouse,Cramlington,Northumberland,England, educated at Cramlington National School and became a coalminer at eleven.[1] His elder brotherJohn Cann migrated toNew South Wales in 1887.[2] Cann married Catherine Roberts in 1890 and they had one daughter and one son. They migrated to NSW in 1900 and Cann worked as a miner nearLithgow and became involved in the Western Miners' Association. He served in the 30th Battalion of thefirst Australian Imperial Force from March 1916 until January 1918.[1][3]
George Cann was a member of theAustralian Labor Party, winning theAustralian House of Representatives seat ofNepean at the1910 election. He was defeated at the1913 election. That year he unsuccessfully contested the NSW Legislative Assembly seat ofUpper Hunter. In 1914, he won the1914 Canterbury by-election, joining his brotherJohn, thenColonial Secretary, in the Legislative Assembly. Cann held Canterbury at the1917 election. In 1920 the district was abolished and absorbed into the new multi-member seat ofSt George; he was one of the members for St George until the abolition ofproportional representation in 1927. He wasSecretary for Mines andMinister for Labour and Industry from April 1920 to October 1921, when he became Secretary for Mines andMinister for Local Government until the defeat of theJames Dooley government in December 1921. He was reappointed when Dooley regained power some hours later. He became Minister for Local Government andMinister for Public Health inJack Lang's first ministry in June 1925. He held the Local Government portfolio until March 1926 and Public Health until May 1927. He opposed Lang's leadership and as a result lost preselection for the 1927 election where he ran unsuccessfully as an independent forLakemba.[1][3][4]
In 1930 Cann ran unsuccessfully as aNationalist at theelection for Lakemba.[4]
He died on 18 October 1948(1948-10-18) (aged 77) in the Sydney suburb ofStrathfield, survived by his wife.[1][3]
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member forNepean 1910–1913 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of New South Wales | ||
| Preceded by | Member forCanterbury 1914–1920 | District abolished |
| Preceded by | Member forSt George 1920–1927 With:Bagnall /Cahill Gosling Ley /Bagnall Arkins | Succeeded by |
