Justin O'Byrne
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Justin O'Byrne AO |
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Portrait of the Hon. Justin O'Byrne as President of the Senate
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| Senator for Tasmania | |
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In office 1 July 1947 – 30 June 1981 |
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| President of the Australian Senate | |
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In office 9 July 1974 – 11 November 1975 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Magnus Cormack |
| Succeeded by | Condor Laucke |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1 June 1912 Launceston, Tasmania, Australia |
| Died | 10 November 1993 (aged 81) Launceston, Tasmania, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1940–1946 |
| Rank | Flight Lieutenant |
| Unit | No. 452 Squadron RAAF |
Justin Hilary O'Byrne, AO (1 June 1912 – 10 November 1993) was a long-serving Australian Labor Party politician who represented Tasmania in the Federal Senate from 1947 to 1981, acting as President of the Senate from 1974 to 1975.
Justin O'Byrne was born in Launceston, Tasmania, and was educated at St Patrick's College. At the age of 18, during the Great Depression, he travelled to Queensland where he spent ten years working a variety of jobs including drover, fencer, bullock driver, tank sinker and station overseer.
In 1940 he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force as a pilot, becoming a member of the No. 452 Squadron RAAF which operated with No. 11 Group RAF during the Battle of Britain. He was shot down over France in 1941 and was a prisoner of war in the Stalag Luft III prison camp in Germany for three years and nine months.
Following the war, O'Byrne stood for the Labor Party in Tasmania in the 1946 federal election, and was elected. O'Byrne's term as Senator began on 1 July 1947, and from that point, he remained in the Senate representing Tasmania until 30 June 1981.
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