People Australia

Joe McCarthy, n.d.

Michael Joseph (Joe) McCarthy (1863-1927) dry-blower, prospector, miner and trade union official 

Birth: 1863 at Emu Creek, Victoria, son of Irish-born parents from County Clare, Simon McCarthy (1826-1892), farmer, and Margaret, née Frawley (1839-1918). Marriage: 1888 at Broken Hill, New South Wales, to Catherine Mansergh (1867-1924), born in Melbourne. They had four daughters and six sons. Death: 11 December 1927 in the residence of his sisters (Criterion Hotel), at Bendigo, Victoria. Religion: Catholic. 

• Was a trade unionist in Victoria. Then moved to Broken Hill, NSW, where he was involved in 1890s strikes. Arrived in Coolgardie, Western Australia, in 1893. Followed Paddy Hannan to Kalgoorlie. Engaged “with more or less success” in the occupation of dry-blower and prospector. Pioneer of labour movement on goldfields WA. Settled in Boulder.
• Held office several times in old Miners’ Union.
• Elected Miners’ Union delegate to Political Labor League about 1900. Active in ALP/Australian Labour Federation from 1906. President, ALP, Eastern Goldfields. Was candidate for election for State seat of Boulder in May 1904.
• Member of the Australian Workers’ Union in Boulder.
• Held office of Master Workman in Knights of Labor established in Boulder in 1898.
• Sound believer in arbitration. One of the first subscribers for launch of Worker newspaper. Strong supporter of labour newspapers. Moved motion that established a chain of Labor dailies. Represented Norseman on ALP Council from about 1918 to at least 1923.
• Following the death of his wife, he lost his son in a mining accident in 1925. He had buried altogether six children.
• Left WA with his surviving children to return to NSW in November 1925. Visited his sisters in Bendigo for the good of his health, which, however, did not improve.
• Occupation “labourer” on his death certificate. Cause of death: miners phthisis, pulmonary tuberculosis, right heart failure and oedema.

Sources
Westralian Worker, 9 February 1923 p 10.