John Patrick O'Neill (1910 – 11 October 1998) was an Australian public servant, who served as Australia's Commonwealth Statistician (head of the

Bureau of Statistics The following is a list of national and international statistical services. Central national statistical services Nearly every country in the world has set a central public sector unit entirely devoted to the production, harmonisation and dissemin ...

) from 1970 to 1975, and

Australian Statistician The Australian Statistician is the head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. On 18 June 1906, the first ''Statistician of the Commonwealth of Australia'' was appointed to carry out the provisions of the ''Census and Statistics Act 1905''. Late ...

from 1975 to 1976. O'Neill was born in

Wynyard, Tasmania Wynyard ( /ˈwɪnjɚd/) ''wi-nyuhd'') is a rural town located on the North West coast of Tasmania, Australia. Wynyard is situated west of Burnie. As of the 2021 census, Wynyard has an estimated population of 6,296 The town is a regional hub s ...

where he attended primary school, later boarding at

St Virgil's College St Virgil's College is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day school for boys, located over two campuses in Austins Ferry and Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1911 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, the College has ...

in Hobart. In 1927, he began working at the Hobart office of the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, and began studying for a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

which he discontinued due to illness. In 1937, he transferred to the Bureau's Canberra office working under Roland Wilson, with secondments to the

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...

and Department of Commerce and Agriculture during World War II. When the Commonwealth Statistician—his friend and colleague, fellow Tasmanian Keith Archer—took sick leave in 1970, O'Neill acted as Commonwealth Statistician until he was officially appointed in 1972, then continued as the Australian Statistician when the role and the Bureau were renamed in 1975, until he retired due to invalidity in August that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Jack 1910 births 1998 deaths Australian public servants Australian statisticians People from Wynyard, Tasmania 20th-century Australian public servants