People Australia

Robert Mahony, n.d.

Robert ('old Bob') Mahony (1872-1961) boilermaker, trade union leader and politician

Birth: 3 October 1872, Kinsale, Cork, Ireland. Son of William Mahony, shipwright, and Bridget nee Manning. Marriage: 17 July 1893 in Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, to Margaret Jane Kennedy. They had four sons and four daughters. Death. 8 February 1961, Balmain, Sydney. Religion: Roman Catholic. 

• Arrived in Sydney with parents and siblings aboard the Northern Monarch on 14 September 1882;
• Educated at St. Augustine’s convent, Balmain;
• Apprenticed as boilermaker;
• Foundation member and first secretary, Ship Painters and Dockers’ Union 1900-1915;
• Union delegate to Sydney Labor Council 1900;
• Helped found Federated Ship, Painters and Dockers' Union, gen. sec. 1915-45, life member;
• In 1891 at its inaugural meeting was elected president of the Balmain Labor League (Australian Labor Party);
• Prominent in anti-conscription campaign;
• Campaign director for John Storey;
• Member of Legislative Council, NSW, 1921-61; Public Works Committee 1922-30; Whip in Legislative Council 1922-61;
• Delegate to TLC for 20 years; Chairman, Disputes Committee 1917; appointed Justice of the Peace in 1911;
• Pres. Eight Hour Day committee 1916, trustee many years;
• Trustee Balmain Workingmen’s Institute;
• Patron, president and life member Balmain Rugby League;
• Worked for St John Ambulance Assn.;
• Brother of William George Mahony MHR 1915-17;
• At his death was reputed to be the last surviving foundation member of the ALP.

Sources
Heather Radi, Peter Spearrit and Elizabeth Hinton, Biographical Register of the NSW Parliament 1901-1970 (Canberra, 1979); Painter and Docker, Aug.-Sept. 1974; Issy Wyner, With Banner Unfurled: the early years of the Ship Painters and Dockers Union (Sydney, c.1983), p.20, p.154-173