John Dacey
NSW Legislative Assembly for Alexandria | |
---|---|
In office 6 August 1904 – 11 April 1912 | |
Preceded by | New district |
Succeeded by | Simon Hickey |
Personal details | |
Born | John Rowland Dacey 1 June 1854 NSW Labor Party |
Spouse | Martha Ellen Douglass |
Children | 4 sons and 6 daughters |
Parents |
|
John Rowland Dacey (1 June 1854 – 11 April 1912) was an Irish-born Australian politician.[1] He moved to Victoria, Australia, with his mother after his father died. Eventually orphaned, Dacey moved to Sydney with his wife and began working as a coachmaker.[1] He began his involvement in politics with an election to local council then moved to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 24 June 1895 to his death on 11 April 1912, serving as Treasurer in his final two years.[2]
Throughout his parliamentary career, Dacey campaigned for a garden suburb which would provide government-owned, low-cost housing to the working class. After his death, the garden suburb of Daceyville was built in Sydney and named in honour of him.[1][3]
Early life
John Dacey was born on 1 June 1854 in
Dacey married Martha Ellen Douglass on 27 July 1878 at St John's Church,
Political involvement
Dacey's involvement in politics began when he was elected to the
A
Dacey campaigned for the district of Botany in 1894 and lost to the free trade supporter William Stephen. Dacey was successful in the 1895 election, defeating Stephen for the seat.[1][2] In the 1904 state election, Dacey was elected to the new district of Alexandria following an electoral redistribution. He was succeeded in the district of Botany by Rowland Anderson from the Liberal Reform Party.[2][10]
Dacey became a senior party figure in the late 1890s and began to work on political strategy to win support in suburban seats and from white-collar voters. He stood in opposition to his party's support for the Premiership of Sir George Reid and instead threatened to resign if the party did not switch its support to William Lyne's Protectionist Party. At a Labor Party conference in 1899, the party executive decided to put forward the protectionism/free trade debate to a referendum of all party members, despite Dacey's campaigning. Dacey's standing in the Labor Party continued to grow: he was the party's treasurer from 1901 to 1910 and on the Party Central Executive in 1912.[1]
Labor won the
Death and legacy
Dacey died of chronic nephritis[11] while serving as the Colonial Treasurer and was granted a state funeral, which took place in St Brigid's Church in Marrickville, New South Wales and was well attended; a contemporary newspaper reported that along "the entire route of the procession, the footpaths were thick with people."[2][12]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Daceyville_-_the_vision.jpg/220px-Daceyville_-_the_vision.jpg)
Dacey had campaigned for the government to provide low-cost housing to the working class from the 1890s to his death; he stated that "the time has come when we should create a Garden City and provide houses of an up-to-date character at the lowest possible rental".
A suburb adjacent to his electorate was created and named after him, Daceyville. A recreational park area was also created, Rowland Park.[15]
References
- ^ OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mr John Rowland Dacey (1854–1912)". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9500936-7-3. Archived from the original(PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- ^ "John R Dacey". Golden Heritage. Treasury of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 15 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ISBN 0-7022-0939-2.
- ISBN 978-0-521-13804-8. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ "Rerum Novarum (The Condition of Labor)". Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Georgetown University. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ "Federation Fact Sheet 1 – The Referendums 1898–1900". Parkes, ACT: Australian Electoral Commission. 24 March 2011.
- ^ "In the country: Coraki". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 June 1899. p. 4. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ "Mr Rowland Joseph Anderson (1872–1959)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- ISBN 9781742246550. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "State Funeral: The Late Mr. Dacey". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 April 1912. p. 17. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ Book of Sydney Suburbs, Frances Pollon (Angus and Robertson) 1990, pages 76–77
- ^ Barlass, Tim (3 June 2012). "First cul-de-sac is far from a dead end". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ "Government Gazette Appointments and Employment". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 83. New South Wales, Australia. 24 June 1927. p. 2929 – via Trove.