John Joseph Cahill
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The Honourable Joseph Cahill |
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Joe Cahill in 1956
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| 29th Premier of New South Wales Elections: 1953, 1956, 1959 |
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In office 2 April 1952 – 22 October 1959 |
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| Deputy | Bob Heffron |
| Preceded by | James McGirr |
| Succeeded by | Bob Heffron |
| Constituency | Cook's River |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Joseph Cahill 21 January 1891 Redfern, New South Wales |
| Died | 22 October 1959 (aged 68) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Resting place | Rookwood Cemetery |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Esmey Mary Kelly |
| Children | Tom 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 the inner-Sydney suburb of Redfern, and was educated at St Brigid's convent school, Marrickville and the Patrician Brothers' College, both close to central Sydney. He became an apprentice at the Eveleigh Railway Workshops 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. After that, he had difficulty finding permanent employment, working in many temporary jobs (including selling insurance for a year) when working at all. During the early 1920s, though, his prospects improved; and in 1922, he married Esmey Mary Kelly.
The first attempt Cahill made to enter New South Wales's parliament, in 1917, failed. He ran on an Australian Labor Party ticket for the Legislative Assembly seat of Dulwich Hill that year, but was defeated. Eight years later, he won another Sydney constituency, St George. He was never among the close allies of ALP Premier (and fellow-Catholic) Jack Lang, and his progress in the ALP was delayed by false rumours that in 1927 he had been bribed to help bring down the Lang government; these rumours were repeated by Lang's own newspaper, Labor Daily. With the abolition of St George in 1930, Cahill ran for Arncliffe and was appointed party whip. He failed to be re-elected in 1932 in the anti-Lang landslide.
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