William Hegney (11 January 1896 – 13 October 1982) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1939 to 1968. He served as a minister in the government of

Albert Hawke Albert Redvers George Hawke (3 December 1900 – 14 February 1986) was the 18th Premier of Western Australia. He served from 23 February 1953 to 2 April 1959, and represented the Labor Party. Hawke was born in South Australia, and began ...

. Hegney was born in Melbourne, as was his older brother James (also a future MP). The brothers came to Western Australia as children, where their father worked for Western Australian Government Railways. Hegney initially worked as a clerk with the Taxation Department, but later moved to the country, working as a shear and labourer. From 1920, he was the secretary and organiser of the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) in Northam, with responsibility for much of regional Western Australia.William Hegney
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2016. At the 1927 state election, Hegney ran against Sir James Mitchell, the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

, losing by only a small margin."Pilbara Seat – Bill Hegney Selected"
– '' Westralian Worker'', 5 August 1938. He was soon after elected to the state executive of the AWU, and eventually elected as a delegate from Western Australia to the AWU national executive council. At the 1939 state election, Hegney was elected to the seat of Pilbara, defeating the sitting Nationalist member, Frank Welsh. At the 1947 election, he defeated an independent candidate, Leonard Taplin, by only a single vote, a result that was subsequently overturned by the Court of Disputed Returns. He went on to win the resulting by-election, keeping his seat. Hegney switched to the seat of Mount Hawthorn (located within the Perth metropolitan area) at the 1950 election. His old seat was won by

Aloysius Rodoreda Aloysius Joseph "Loy" Rodoreda (29 May 1892 – 11 March 1958) was an Australian politician who was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1953 to 1956. A member of the Labor Party, he sat in parliament from 1933 to ...

, the former member for Roebourne. After Labor's victory at the 1953 election, Hegney was made

Minister for Native Welfare The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs is a position in the Cabinet of Western Australia, first created in 1947 during the McLarty–Watts Ministry. The current Minister for Aboriginal Affairs is Tony Buti of the Labor Party. The minister is respo ...

, Minister for Labour, and Minister for Prices in the Hawke government. After the 1956 election, his titles were Minister for Labour and Minister for Education, which he held until the defeat of the Labor government three years later. Hegney remained in parliament until his retirement at the 1968 election.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hegney, Bill 1896 births 1982 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian trade unionists Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Melbourne 20th-century Australian politicians