William Joseph Duggan (31 January 1884 – 4 July 1934) was an Australian trade unionist who served as the first president of the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and la ...

. Duggan was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to ironoulder William Duggan and Elizabeth Margaret, ''née'' Whitmore. He attended local state schools before working as an estate agent and plumber, eventually joining the

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

. In his early years he developed both his penchant for self-education and his

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

skills. He later left the navy to return to plumbing. On 12 March 1910 he married Frances Annie Barratt at

St James Old Cathedral St James Old Cathedral, an Anglicanism, Anglican church, is the oldest church in Melbourne, Australia, albeit not on its original site. It is one of the relatively few buildings in the central city which predate the Victorian gold rush of 1851. T ...

. In March 1912, as a member of the Commonwealth Military Cadet Corps, he was commissioned

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

, but in 1913 he resigned; despite his early support for military training he would oppose

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

during the 1916–17 referendums. Duggan had joined the United Operative Plumbers and Gasfitters' Society of Victoria (which became the

Australian Plumbers and Gasfitters Employees Union The Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union is a trade union in Australia. It is a division of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia. The union was originally formed through the amalgamation of state-based unions in Vict ...

in 1912) in 1910. He was state vice-president from August 1911 until his election as first organiser in January 1912. In 1914 he became first secretary of the Building Trades Federation, and in March 1918 he sat on the Shipbuilding Tribunal. He continued to be active in the union movement throughout the 1920s, serving as a Plumbers' Union delegate on the

Victorian Trades Hall Council The Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) is a representative body of trade union organisations, known as a labour council, in the state of Victoria, Australia. It comprises 43 affiliated trade unions and professional associations, and eight regi ...

until his election as THC President (1926–27). He chaired the 1927 Third All-Australian Trade Union Congress, which established the

of which he was inaugural president, serving until 1934. He was also active in the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

, serving as first metropolitan council president in 1926 and as Victorian president from 1928 to 1929. He served on the federal executive (1929–31, 1932) and ran for preselection for

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

in 1928, unsuccessfully contesting

Henty Henty may refer to: Australian geography *Henty, New South Wales *Henty, Victoria *Henty (wine) an Australian geographical indicator and wine region in southwestern Victoria *Division of Henty, a former federal electorate in Victoria *Henty Highway ...

in 1929. He served on Coburg Council from 1924 to 1930 and as mayor from 1928 to 1929. Duggan died from a

duodenal ulcer Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines ...

in 1934 at

Moreland The City of Merri-bek is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The Merri-bek local government area covers , and in June 2018, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duggan, Billy 1884 births 1934 deaths Australian Council of Trade Unions people Australian trade unionists Australian plumbers Australian builders