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William Joseph (Bill) Healy (1892–1955)

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William Joseph (Bill) Healy (1892-1955) public servant and trade union official

Birth: 1892 at Ultimo, Sydney son of Irish-born parents William Healy (c.1858-1940), hotel keeper, from Tipperary, and Ellen, née Tierney (c.1858-1951), from Cork. Marriage: 1917 at Randwick, Sydney, NSW, to Elizabeth Jean (Jean) Palmer (1891-1979), born at Murrumburrah, NSW. They had two daughters. Death: 19 July 1955 in his residence at Titania street, Randwick, Sydney. Religion: Catholic. 

  • Educated at St Joseph’s College, Hunter’s Hill.
  • Worked in postal services in various positions in the Post Office from messenger to postmaster in NSW.
  • Associated with basic wage agitation in 1921. Founding member of Fourth Division Postmasters, Postal Clerks and Telegraphists’ Union in 1922. General secretary-advocate of the union from 1922 to 1936; divisional representative (4th Division) of the Commonwealth Public Service, NSW, 1928.
  • Brought several cases before Public Service Arbitrator, including the initial one about comparative wage and conditions with Third Division Postal Clerks and Telegraphists. Contributors’ Representative on Superannuation Board. Elected to the Commonwealth Public Service Appeals Board in May 1930.
  • Transferred to Customs Department. General secretary, Fourth Division of Trade and Custom Officers’ Association.
  • Superannuated from the public service due to invalidity and continued as general secretary of Fourth Division of Trade and Custom Officers’ Association until 1955.
  • Member of the Australian Labor Party and active in assisting the return of the Scullin Government in 1929.
  • Cause of death: coronary occlusion and pulmonary tuberculosis, from which he suffered for ten years.

Sources
Australian Postal Clerk, 30 December, 1928, 20 December 1930, July 1955; Postal Advocate, 21 August 1955.

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Citation details

'Healy, William Joseph (Bill) (1892–1955)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/healy-william-joseph-bill-34088/text42746, accessed 20 September 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1892
Ultimo, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Death

19 July, 1955 (aged ~ 63)
Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

tuberculosis

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.

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.

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