James Dooley (politician)

James Thomas Dooley (26 April 1877 – 2 January 1950) served twice, briefly, as Premier of New South Wales during the early 1920s.

James Dooley
21st Premier of New South Wales Election: 1922
In office 5 October 1921 – 20 December 1921
Preceded by	John Storey
Succeeded by	Sir George Fuller
In office 20 December 1921 – 13 April 1922
Preceded by	Sir George Fuller
Succeeded by	Sir George Fuller
Constituency	Hartley
Personal details
Born	James Thomas Dooley (1877-04-26)26 April 1877 Ballymahon, County Longford, Ireland
Died	2 January 1950(1950-01-02) (aged 72) New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Kate Rodé Trundle

Early years

Born in the townland of Curracreehan (possibly Currycreaghan), near Ballymahon, County Longford, Ireland, he was the fourth son of Thomas Dooley, a farmer, and his wife Elizabeth, née O'Connor.[1]

He arrived in Brisbane, Australia at the age of 8, where he attended a state school before commencing work as a draper's assistant at twelve and was later apprenticed to a tailor. He attended evening classes and joined the college's literary and debating society and the Labor Party. In about 1901, he worked at Cobar and other outback New South Wales before settling in Lithgow, New South Wales and marrying Kate Rodé Trundle in 1905.[2]

Parliamentary career

In 1907, he was elected to the seat of Hartley in the Legislative Assembly and was its youngest member at the time. From 1920 to 1927 he represented Bathurst.[3] On the expulsion of Premier William Holman and others from the Labor Party on the conscription issue in November 1917, Dooley became deputy party leader to Ernest Durack. When Durack resigned in February 1917, John Storey became party leader and Dooley remained deputy leader. Labor won the 1920 election with a majority of one and he was appointed Colonial Secretary (including responsibility for state enterprises and the police) and Minister for Housing from April 1920 to October 1921. Dooley acted as Premier during Storey's six-month trip to England (January–July 1921) and when Storey was sick. He became Premier on Storey's death in October 1921. His government was defeated on the floor of the House on 13 December 1921, but new Premier George Fuller, lost a vote within seven hours of his appointment, and Dooley regained power. He lost a highly sectarian election campaign to Fuller in April 1922.[2]

As the result of a dispute with a party executive, dominated by the Australian Workers' Union, he was expelled from the party in February 1923, but reinstated by the NSW Labor Party annual conference later that year.[4] In August 1923, he resigned and Jack Lang became leader. During the 1925-27 Lang Government Dooley served as Speaker. Afterwards he fell out with the Labor leadership, lost Labor preselection for Bathurst, and stood unsuccessfully as an Independent Labor candidate for the Senate in the 1931 federal election and for Hartley in the 1932 State election, which swept Lang from office. He also ran unsuccessfully against Billy Hughes in North Sydney in 1940. His first wife died in 1936, and he married Irene Mary Kenney in 1946.[2] He owned two Lithgow hotels during his later years.

Death

James Dooley died on 2 January 1950 at the Liverpool Hospital in Sydney. He was survived by his wife, son and daughter. His funeral was held at St. Mary's Cathedral on 4 January 1950, and he was interred at Botany Cemetery on the same day.[5]

Notes

1. "General Registrar's Office". IrishGenealogy.ie. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
2. Cunneen, Chris. "Dooley, James Thomas (1877 - 1950)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
3. "Mr James Thomas Dooley (1877-1950)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
4. Scott Stephenson. ""Ballot-Faking Crooks and a Tyrannical Executive": The Australian Workers Union Faction and the 1923 New South Wales Labor Party Annual Conference." Labour History, no. 105 (2013): 93–111. doi:10.5263/labourhistory.105.0093.
5. Sydney Morning Herald: Funeral Notice 04/01/1950 (page 22)

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by John Hurley	Member for Hartley 1907 – 1920	District abolished
Preceded by Valentine Johnston	Member for Bathurst 1920 – 1927 Served alongside: Fitzpatrick, Johnston/Rosenthal/Kelly	Succeeded by Gus Kelly
Preceded by Daniel Levy	Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1925 – 1927	Succeeded by Sir Daniel Levy
Political offices
Preceded by John Storey	Premier of New South Wales 1921	Succeeded by George Fuller
Preceded by George Fuller	Premier of New South Wales 1921 – 1922	Succeeded by George Fuller
Party political offices
Preceded by John Storey	Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales 1922 – 1923	Succeeded by Jack Lang