James Edward Cahill (15 April 1903 – 21 August 1978) was an Australian politician and a 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 ...

for one term from 1953 until 1956. He was also an indirectly elected member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

between 1965 and 1970. He was a member of the Labor Party (ALP). Cahill was born in the farming community of Blackville near

Quirindi Quirindi ( or ) is a small town on the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Liverpool Plains Shire. At the , Quirindi had a population of 3,444. It is the nearest link to Gunnedah to the west and Tamworth to the north. ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and was the son of a schoolteacher. Cyril Cahill a member of the Legislative Council between 1961 and 1977, was his brother (but neither was related to ALP Premier Joe Cahill). Educated at

Tamworth High School Tamworth High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in Willis Street, South Tamworth, a suburb of the Tamworth Regional Council local government area in the New England region of New South Wal ...

, Jim Cahill qualified as a licensed pharmacist. He owned a chemist's shop in

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

and became involved in community organisations including

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

and the Chamber of Commerce. Having joined the local branch of the ALP in 1930, he served part-time in the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

for five years. After two unsuccessful attempts, Cahill was elected to the parliament as the Labor member for

at the 1953 state election. He defeated the incumbent Country Party member

Davis Hughes Sir William Davis Hughes (24 November 1910 – 16 March 2003) was an Australian politician. He was notable for his involvement in the controversial resignation of architect Jørn Utzon from the Sydney Opera House project in 1966. Early life H ...

by 13 votes. Armidale was usually considered unwinnable for Labor but the result reflected the solid swing to the party at that election. Cahill held the seat for only one term but remained active in the Labor Party after his defeat in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

. He was subsequently indirectly elected, on the party's nomination, to a seat in the Legislative council between 1965 and 1970. There he filled the casual vacancy which had been caused by the death of incumbent Michael Quinn. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cahill, Jim 1903 births 1978 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians People from Armidale Australian Army personnel 20th-century Australian military personnel Military personnel from New South Wales