People Australia

Gerald William Mahoney  (1892-1955) labor politician

Birth: 24 May 1892, Railton, Tasmania. Son of Cornelius Mahoney, carpenter, and Margaret nee O’Halloran. Married. Edith Margaret Mansfield, 1919, Hobart. They had one son and one daughter. Death: 16 September 1955, Hobart. Roman Catholic.

• Educated at St. Patrick’s Convent School, Latrobe;
• Carried swag in NSW and Vic. when young;
• Returned to Tasmania; painter when work available;
• Rep. Seamen’s Union, Port of Hobart, 1920s;
• Attempted to organise timber workers 1920s;
• Aust. Builders’ Labourers’ Union representative at Melbourne Conference, 1922;
• Part-time secretary, Painters’ and Decorators’ Union until death;
• Member House of Assembly, Denison, 1931-34 (defeated); Contested Denison 1925, 1928, 1934; Expelled from ALP, stood as Ind. Labor 1925, later readmitted; Member House of Representatives, Denison, 1934-40 (defeated); Contested Denison 1943 as Independent Labor;
• Much work with unemployed during Depression;
• Employed Manpower Administration during WWII;
• Secretary, Citizens’ Committee in beer strike during late 1920s;
• Member, Trainers’ and Breeders’ Greyhound Assn.;
• Member, North Hobart Football Club.

 S. Bennett & B. Bennett, Biographical Register of the Tasmanian Parliament, 1851–1960, Canberra, 1980; Rydon