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Henry James (Harry) Hannah (1873–1944)

by Chris Cunneen

This article was published:

Henry James (Harry) Hannah (1873-1944) builders’ labourer, trade union leader

Birth: 1873 in Whroo, Victoria, to Scottish-born parents James Smith Hannah, miner, and Elizabeth, née Irving. Marriage: 1894 to Mary Elizabeth Humphreys. They had five sons and four daughters. Death: 8 October 1944 at Carrum, Victoria. 

  • Entered the building industry in Melbourne in 1893.
  • To Western Australia with his brother Martin in the 1890s, and was active in the 1897 building trade dispute.
  • Returned to Melbourne in 1899. Secretary of the Builders' Labourers’ Union from December 1909 to September 1910, when he became founding secretary of the Australian Builders Labourers’ Federation.
  • In 1911 he brought navvies and labourers’ assistants into the one union. Retired from union office in November 1912, succeeded by B. A. Mulvogue.
  • Worked as an assessor on behalf of builders’ labourers until about 1919.

Sources
Humphrey McQueen, We built this country: builders’ labourers and their unions, 1787 to the future (Port Adelaide, 2011), pp 83. 141-2.

Citation details

Chris Cunneen, 'Hannah, Henry James (Harry) (1873–1944)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/hannah-henry-james-harry-32729/text40687, accessed 20 April 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Harry Hannah, 1911

Harry Hannah, 1911

Labor Call (Melbourne), 1 June 1911, p 3

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1873
Whroo, Victoria, Australia

Death

8 October, 1944 (aged ~ 71)
Carrum, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Occupation
Key Organisations