Francis George (Frank) Downing (7 March 1907 – 22 December 1978) was an Australian politician and an ALP member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

from 1953 until 1968. . Downing was born in

Tumut, New South Wales Tumut () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Tumut River. Tumut sits on the north-west foothills of the Snowy Mountains and is located on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri, Wolgalu ...

and was the son of a council worker. He was the brother of

Reg Downing Robert Reginald Downing, (6 November 1904 – 9 September 1994) was an Australian lawyer, textile worker, union organiser and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council for the Labor Party for 31 years from 1940 t ...

, whose three-decade-long career in the NSW legislature included service 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 ...

; Thomas O'Mara, another parliamentarian, was a cousin. Educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, Frank initially worked as a timber-worker before becoming an official in the

Australian Timber Workers Union Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

. His first attempt to enter parliament (in 1950) was unsuccessful; but he became the ALP member for

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

at the

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

state election, defeating the incumbent

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

representative, Ken Anderson. In the elections of 1956, 1959, 1962, and 1965, Downing retained the seat, which was abolished in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

. During that year, he tried to gain the newly created electorate of Fuller. This time he lost to the Liberal candidate, future party leader

Peter Coleman William Peter Coleman (15 December 1928 – 31 March 2019) was an Australian writer and politician. A widely published journalist for over 60 years, he was editor of '' The Bulletin'' (1964–1967) and of '' Quadrant'' for 20 years, and publi ...

. Thereafter Downing retired from public life. He was the chairman of caucus in 1959 but did not hold any ministerial office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, Frank 1907 births 1978 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Australian people of Irish descent 20th-century Australian politicians