Frank Finnan

The Honourable Frank Finnan CBE
Minister for Labour and Industry and Minister for Social Welfare
In office 9 March 1948 – 23 February 1953
Premier	William McKell James McGirr Joseph Cahill
Preceded by	John Baddeley
Succeeded by	Abe Landa
Personal details
Born	(1897-09-23)23 September 1897 The Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
Died	21 March 1966(1966-03-21) (aged 68) Waratah, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Labor Party

Francis Joseph Finnan CBE (23 September 1897 – 21 March 1966) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1941 until 1953. He was a member of the Labor Party and held numerous ministerial positions between 1947 and 1953.

Early life and career

Finnan was born in The Rocks and was educated at St Aloysius' College (Sydney). He initially worked as a shearer in Queensland and was an official in the Australian Workers' Union. By 1930, Finnan had returned to Sydney and was involved in the management of Labor papers including Common Cause and the Labor Daily.^[1]

Political career

He was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as the Labor member for Hawkesbury at the 1941 state election. The sitting United Australia Party member, Bruce Walker Jr, didn't stand as he was on trial for conspiracy charges,^[2] and Finnan's victory helped Labor gain a majority at the election. He held the seat at the next 2 elections but a redistribution prior to the 1950 state election made the seat unwinnable for Labor.^[3] During the premierships of James McGirr and Joseph Cahill, Finnan held numerous ministerial positions including Minister for Tourism, and Minister for Labour and Industry and Social Welfare.^[4]

Finnan successfully stood for the new seat of Darlinghurst at the 1950 election. Darlinghurst was abolished in the 1952 redistribution,^[5] he lost the preselection contest for Concord,^[6] and was unsuccessful in an attempt to win the seat of Albury. He then retired from state politics and was granted retention of the "Honourable" title for life by Queen Elizabeth II.^[7][8]

Later life and career

Finnan then moved to Newcastle where he was appointed by Premier Cahill as president of the Hunter District Water Board.^[9] In 1960, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).^[10] Reappointed in 1960, when he reached the statutory retiring age in 1962, the government passed special legislation enabling him to continue for another term, serving a further two years before retiring in 1964.^[11][12]

Finnan was a council-member (1959–66) of Newcastle University College (University of Newcastle from 1965), chairman of the Hunter Valley Research Foundation, a member of the Newcastle Regional Development Committee and of the Newcastle International Sports Centre Trust, and a director of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Waratah. Finnan was a patient of the same hospital and died there in 1966.^[1]

Finnan Oval in Blackalls Park, Lake Macquarie, is named after him on land owned by Hunter Water.^[13]

References

1. Lloyd, C J (1996). "Finnan, Francis Joseph (1897–1966)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
2. "Conspiracy charge: Walker in box". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 May 1941. p. 5. Retrieved 3 May 2019 – via Trove.
3. "F. J. Finnan Holds Hawkesbury Seat Gained Absolute Majority Over Rivals". Hawkesbury Herald. 31 May 1944. p. 2. Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via Trove.
4. "The Hon. Francis Joseph Finnan (1897-1966)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
5. "1952 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
6. "Finnan, Greenup in A.L.P sensation". Truth. 21 December 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 11 December 2021 – via Trove.
7. "Retention of the title "Honourable" (3)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 15 January 1954. p. 79. Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via Trove.
8. "No. 40075". The London Gazette. 15 January 1954. p. 378.
9. "HUNTER DISTRICT WATER SEWERAGE AND DRAINAGE ACT, 1938-1952". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 59. 27 March 1953. p. 946. Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via Trove.
10. "No. 42051". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 3 June 1960. p. 3993.
11. "HUNTER DISTRICT WATER, SEWERAGE AND DRAINAGE ACT, 1938-1956". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 38. 18 March 1960. p. 775. Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via Trove.
12. "HUNTER DISTRICT WATER, SEWERAGE AND DRAINAGE (PRESIDENT) ACT, 1962". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 92. 21 September 1962. p. 2750. Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via Trove.
13. "Finnan Oval and Waterboard Oval". Lake Macquarie City Council Community Directory. Lake Macquarie City Council. Retrieved 17 September 2014.

 

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Bruce Walker Jr	Member for Hawkesbury 1941 – 1950	Succeeded by Bernie Deane
New district	Member for Darlinghurst 1950 – 1953	District abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Clive Evatt	Minister in Charge of Tourist Activities Immigration 1947 – 1948	Succeeded by Claude Matthews
Preceded by John Baddeley	Minister for Labour and Industry and Social Welfare 1948 – 1953	Succeeded by Abe Landa
Government offices
Preceded by Charles George Schroder	President of the Hunter District Water Board 1953 – 1964	Succeeded by Frank Keith Duncan