Francis Brennan (1873 – 6 November 1950) was an Australian lawyer and politician. He was a member of 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 ...

(ALP) and served as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in the

Scullin Government Scullin may refer to: In places: * Scullin, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Division of Scullin, an electorate in the Australian House of Representatives People with the surname Scullin: * James Scullin (1876–1953), Prime Mi ...

(1929–1932). He was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for over 35 years (1911–1931, 1934–1949), one of the longest periods of service. His brother Tom Brennan was a

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

senator, a rare instance of family members representing opposing parties.

Early life

Brennan was born at Upper Emu Creek near

Bendigo, Victoria Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria (Australia), 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 populat ...

and was a younger brother of Tom Brennan, later an assistant minister in the conservative

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

government. He studied law at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and achieved an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1901. A prominent lay figure in Melbourne Catholicism, he established a legal business specialising in union cases. He joined the Labor Party in 1907 and unsuccessfully contested

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 1910, but won

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

at a by-election in 1911. In 1913 he married Cecilia Mary O'Donnell.

Politics

Brennan was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1911 Batman by-election. Following Labor's election win during

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

, Brennan became

in the Scullin Ministry, but was not particularly effective in this role. In any event, he lost his seat in the 1931 election as a result of the swing against Labor, which came about because of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and the resultant split in the Labor Party. Although Brennan had gone into the election holding Batman with a comfortably safe majority of 25.8 percent, he was defeated by

challenger

Samuel Dennis Samuel Dennis (26 March 1870 – 28 January 1945) was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he was educated at state schools before becoming a contractor and company director. He served on Northcote Council for 36 years before his e ...

on an unheard-of swing (the biggest in Australian electoral history until that time) of 26.6 percent. He recovered Batman in a rematch against Dennis in the 1934 election and held it until his retirement in 1949.

Personal life

Brennan was the father of prominent author Niall Brennan, a biographer of both Archbishop

Daniel Mannix Daniel Patrick Mannix (4 March 1864 – 6 November 1963) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia. Early years and Mayno ...

and businessman

John Wren John Wren (3 April 1871 – 26 October 1953) was an Australian bookmaker, boxing and wrestling promoter, Irish nationalist, land speculator, newspaper owner, racecourse and racehorse owner, soldier, pro-conscriptionist and theatre owner. He b ...

.Niall Brennan (1971), ''John Wren: Gambler. His Life and Times'', Hill of Content, Melbourne Brennan died of hypertensive vascular disease 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Frank 1873 births 1950 deaths Australian people of Irish descent Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Batman Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Australian Roman Catholics People from Bendigo 20th-century Australian politicians University of Melbourne alumni politicians