Bill Denny
Bill Denny | |
---|---|
29th Attorney-General of South Australia | |
In office 17 April 1930 – 18 April 1933 | |
Premier | |
Preceded by | Hermann Homburg |
Succeeded by | Shirley Jeffries |
In office 16 April 1924 – 8 April 1927 | |
Premier | John Gunn |
Preceded by | Hermann Homburg |
Succeeded by | Hermann Homburg |
In office 3 June 1910 – 17 February 1912 | |
Premier | John Verran |
Preceded by | Hermann Homburg |
Succeeded by | Hermann Homburg |
Member of the South Australian House of Assembly for Adelaide | |
In office 3 November 1906 – 7 April 1933 | |
In office 3 May 1902 – 26 May 1905 | |
Member of the South Australian House of Assembly for West Adelaide | |
In office 17 March 1900 – 2 May 1902 | |
Personal details | |
Born | William Joseph Denny 6 December 1872 Labor (1917–1931) (1931–1933) |
Spouse |
Winefride Mary Leahy
(m. 1920) |
9th Light Horse Regiment | |
Battles/wars | World War I (Western Front) |
Awards | Military Cross |
William Joseph Denny
Denny served as
He was again Attorney-General in the Labor governments led by John Gunn (1924–26), Lionel Hill (1930–33) and Robert Richards (1933), and held other portfolios in those governments, including housing, irrigation and repatriation. He continued his reform of the housing sector, being a key proponent of the Thousand Homes Scheme which aimed to provide affordable housing, particularly for returned soldiers and their families, and members of lower income groups. Denny published two memoirs of his military service, and when he died in 1946 aged 73, he was accorded a state funeral.
Early life
William Joseph Denny was born in
When a by-election was held for West Adelaide on 17 March 1900, Denny was elected to the single vacancy created by the resignation of the former Premier of South Australia, Charles Kingston.[6] He ran as an "independent liberal" candidate,[7] gaining 66.8 per cent of the vote.[6] Prior to the 1902 state election the electoral district of West Adelaide was abolished. Denny contested the new four-member electoral district of Adelaide, and was elected second in the count with 14.3 per cent of the votes cast.[8] He was defeated at the 1905 state election, gaining only 9.9 per cent of the votes.[9] The following year, having abandoned his former liberalism,[10] he contested the seat of Adelaide at the state election as a ULP candidate, and was elected first, receiving 19.3 per cent of the votes cast.[11] He was again returned first at the 1910 state election,[12] after which the ULP led by John Verran formed the first Labor government of South Australia on 3 June.[13][14] Having begun studying law at the University of Adelaide in 1903,[1][3] Denny was articled to J.R. Anderson, KC,[15] and was admitted as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1908.[1]
Attorney-General
Denny was appointed
Verran called an
World War I
Denny enlisted in the
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty whilst engaged in pack transport work near HOGGE on the night of 15 September 1917. Lieutenant DENNY showed great coolness and initiative throughout, especially when his convoy came under very heavy barrage in the vicinity of CLAPHAM JUNCTION. Although wounded himself, Lieut. DENNY personally obtained assistance for two of his men who were wounded. He then reorganised his command and succeeded in reaching his destination. Lieut. DENNY after delivering this water then went to the dressing station where he dictated a report to D.H.Q. before being evacuated.
He was invested with the Military Cross by King
Return to Parliament
Still serving overseas at the time of the 1918 state election, Denny was returned first of three in Adelaide with 30.2 per cent of the ballots cast.[28] He was repatriated to Australia via the United States on 2 August 1919,[3] returning to his seat. While in the United States, he had been regularly published in the New York Herald.[15] He married Winefride Mary Leahy, a pianist and singer,[1] on 15 January 1920 at St. Ignatius Church, Norwood. His brother, the Reverend Richard Denny, officiated at their wedding.[29] He was elected second of two in 1921 and second of three in 1924 with similar proportions of the vote to that he achieved in 1918.[30] He was appointed Attorney-General in the newly-elected Labor government of John Gunn in April 1924, and was also Minister for Housing, and initially, Assistant Minister for Repatriation. In January 1925 he was appointed as Minister for Irrigation and Minister for Repatriation, while retaining his Attorney-General and housing portfolios.[16]
During this period he carried out several significant legislative changes.[1] In 1924, as Minister for Housing, Denny was closely associated with the Thousand Homes Scheme, which aimed to provide affordable housing, particularly for returned soldiers and their families, and lower income groups.[31] The land used for this development was the site of the Mitcham military camp at which Denny had trained before embarking for service overseas.[32] Denny's work on the Scheme resulted in a clash with former Premier Sir Henry Barwell, whom he sued for libel after Barwell made statements suggesting that Denny had made false statements to induce merchants to provide goods and services. Barwell later apologised for his comments.[33]
Another change was the transition to the use of judges as the electoral returning officer for South Australia. This was done to impose state control on a system which had effectively combined the administration of the national and state electoral rolls.[34] On 27 May 1925,[35] Denny arranged the appointment of Judge Herbert Kingsley Paine of the Insolvency Court to be appointed as Electoral Officer for the state,[36] replacing Charles Mathews, a state public servant who had held the position since 1907.[37] Denny had previously worked for Paine as a legal associate.[36]
As a returned soldier, Denny was an exception among Labor politicians at both state and federal level in the 1920s. Willing and able to speak about his personal war experiences, he was one of the few Labor politicians invited to unveil memorials. He performed this role for the Soldiers' Memorial Hall at
In 1931, Denny was expelled from the Labor Party, along with Hill and the rest of the cabinet, for supporting the "Premiers' Plan", which sought to impose austerity measures due to the poor economic conditions. The cabinet formed the Parliamentary Labor Party which continued to govern the state, led by Hill and then by Robert Richards, with the support of the opposition until the 1933 state election. At the 1933 election, Denny lost his seat to a Lang Labor Party candidate.[1]
Later life
In September 1936, Bill's brother, who was a Catholic priest, and his sister, Mary Catherine Denny, were involved in a vehicle accident in which Mary received fatal injuries. His brother suffered from an illness that resulted from the accident which contributed to his death in June 1941.[43] Denny wrote a further autobiographical book, A Digger at Home and Abroad, which was published in 1941. He continued to practice law until his death, despite difficulties associated with rheumatoid arthritis. He died on 2 May 1946[1] of a heart attack which developed at his home on Osmond Terrace, Norwood, after he returned from his office in Adelaide.[44] He was survived by his wife, one son and three daughters. He was accorded a state funeral, and was buried at West Terrace Cemetery.[1]
He was "keenly interested" in sporting matters, a steward of the Adelaide Racing Club, and was an ex-captain of the Mercantile Rowing Club.[45] Denny was also the patron of the West Adelaide Football Club for twenty years ending in 1930.[46] He enjoyed diving for crayfish under the rocks at the back of Rosetta Head near Victor Harbor on Encounter Bay, and was often accompanied by Ephriam "Brownie" Tripp, an Aboriginal man from the Point McLeay Aboriginal Mission.[47] According to his entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, "his preferred reading was Shakespeare and the Bible and he quoted liberally from both. His integrity, versatility and wide knowledge were unquestioned, and he was proud of the democratic legislation he had sponsored."[1]
Bibliography
- Denny, Capt. W. J. (1919). The Diggers. London: Hodder and Stoughton. OCLC 2306667.
- Denny, William Joseph (1941). A Digger at Home and Abroad. Melbourne: Popular Publications. OCLC 3836864.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Lincoln 1981.
- ^ a b The Adelaide Observer 1899.
- ^ a b c d The Sunday Times 1919.
- ^ Powell 2014.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, p. 143.
- ^ a b Jaensch 2007, p. 145.
- ^ Howell 2002, p. 115.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, p. 156.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, p. 167.
- ^ Howell 2002, p. 315.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, p. 176.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, p. 188.
- ^ Howell 2002, p. 312.
- ^ Sharman 2014.
- ^ a b The Daily Herald 1921.
- ^ a b c Parliament of South Australia.
- ^ Walker 1999, p. 122.
- ^ Donovan & Painter 1990, p. 47.
- ^ The Daily Herald 1912.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, p. 198.
- ^ The Advertiser 1912.
- ^ Brooks, Gill & Weste 2008, pp. 39–40.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, p. 208.
- ^ The Chronicle 1915.
- ^ The Daily Herald 1917.
- ^ Australian War Memorial.
- ^ The Adelaide Observer 1917.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, p. 219.
- ^ The Advertiser 1920.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, pp. 232 & 235.
- ^ The Advertiser 1946.
- ^ City of Mitcham.
- ^ The Adelaide Observer 1926.
- ^ Macilwain 2007, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Macilwain 2007, p. 12.
- ^ a b Macilwain 2007, p. 11.
- ^ Macilwain 2007, p. 4.
- ^ Inglis & Brazier 2008, pp. 197–198.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, p. 238.
- ^ Jaensch 2007, p. 243.
- ^ Inglis & Brazier 2008, pp. 281–282.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark 1996, p. 106.
- ^ The Narracoorte Herald 1941.
- ^ The Australian Worker 1946.
- ^ Burgess 1907, p. 216.
- ^ The Register News-Pictorial 1930.
- ^ The Victor Harbour Times 1944.
References
Books
- Burgess, Henry Thomas (1907). The cyclopedia of South Australia. Vol. 1. Adelaide, SA: Cyclopedia Co. (A.G. Selway). p. 216. OCLC 218525932.
- Coulthard-Clark, Chris (1996). Soldiers in Politics: The Impact of the military on Australian Political Life and Institutions. St. Leonards, NSW: ISBN 1-86448-185-4.
- Donovan, P. F.; Painter, Alison (1990). Real History: The Real Estate Institute of South Australia 1919–1989. Canberra, ACT: Real Estate Institute of Australia. ISBN 978-0-646-02056-3.
- Howell, Peter (2002). South Australia and Federation. Kent Town, SA: Wakefield Press. ISBN 978-1-86254-549-6.
- ISBN 978-0-522-85479-4.
- Walker, David (1999). Anxious Nation: Australia and the Rise of Asia, 1850–1939. St Lucia, QLD: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 978-0-7022-3131-5.
Papers
- Brooks, David; Gill, Zoe; Weste, John, eds. (2008). "South Australian Referenda, 1896–1991" (PDF). Research Paper No. 7. ISSN 0816-4282. Archived from the original(PDF) on 9 April 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-9750486-3-4. Archived from the originalon 2 March 2014.
- Macilwain, Margaret (2007). History of the State Electoral Office. ISBN 978-0-9750486-2-7. Archived from the originalon 24 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
Newspapers
- "Captain Denny MP Married". The Advertiser. Adelaide, SA. 16 January 1920. p. 10. Retrieved 18 January 2015 – via Trove.
- "Capt. W.J. Denny MC". The Sunday Times. Sydney, NSW. 3 August 1919. p. 3. Retrieved 18 January 2015 – via Trove.
- "Councillor W. J. Denny". The Adelaide Observer. Adelaide, SA. 4 February 1899. p. 41. Retrieved 5 April 2015 – via Trove.
- "Death of Mr. W.J. Denny". The Advertiser. Adelaide, SA. 3 May 1946. p. 8. Retrieved 5 April 2015 – via Trove.
- "Death of the Rev. Father R.P. Denny". The Narracoorte Herald. Narracoorte, SA. 13 June 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 18 January 2015 – via Trove.
- "July". The Adelaide Observer. Adelaide, SA. 9 January 1926. p. 18. Retrieved 6 April 2015 – via Trove.
- "Late "Brownie" Tripp". The Victor Harbour Times. Victor Harbour, SA. 10 March 1944. p. 2. Retrieved 18 January 2015 – via Trove.
- "Lieutenant Denny". The Daily Herald. Adelaide, SA. 16 January 1917. p. 4. Retrieved 6 April 2015 – via Trove.
- "Military Honours". The Adelaide Observer. Adelaide, SA. 17 November 1917. p. 38. Retrieved 18 January 2015 – via Trove.
- "Mr. Denny on Camp Life". The Chronicle. Adelaide, SA. 25 September 1915. p. 36. Retrieved 6 April 2015 – via Trove.
- "Obituary". The Australian Worker. Sydney, NSW. 8 May 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 18 January 2015 – via Trove.
- "The University of Adelaide". The Advertiser. Adelaide, SA. 29 April 1912. p. 14. Retrieved 18 January 2015 – via Trove.
- "Walking Willy". The Daily Herald. Adelaide, SA. 21 September 1912. p. 9. Retrieved 18 January 2015 – via Trove.
- "West Football Sensation: Mr. Edwards Ousts Mr. Denny". The Register News-Pictorial. Adelaide, SA. 21 February 1930. p. 2. Retrieved 19 January 2015 – via Trove.
- "W.J. Denny". The Daily Herald. Adelaide, SA. 31 March 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 6 April 2015 – via Trove.
Websites
- "Hon William Denny". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- Lincoln, Merrilyn (1981). "Denny, William Joseph (Bill) (1872–1946)". ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- "Mitcham Army Camp". City of Mitcham. 2015. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- Powell, Graeme (2014). "O'Loghlin, James Vincent (1852–1925)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- "Recommendation of Lieutenant William Joseph DENNY for the Military Cross". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- Sharman, Campbell (2014). "Parliament of South Australia, Assembly election 2 April 1910". Australian Politics and Elections Database. University of Western Australia. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
External links
- Media related to Bill Denny at Wikimedia Commons