John Charles Meehan (6 February 1864 – 15 February 1930) was an Irish-born Australian politician. He was born in

Ballyconnell Ballyconnell () is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It is situated on the N87 national secondary road at the junction of four townlands: Annagh, Cullyleenan, Doon (Tomregan) and Derryginny in the parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw. Ball ...

to John Meehan and Mary McAdam. He arrived in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

around 1878, working as a woodcutter at

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits under ...

and then as a shearer in the western districts. He was involved in the formation of the Queensland Shearers' and Labourers' Union, and was that body's delegate to the formation of the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

(AWU). On 21 July 1890 he married Clara Mary Theresa O'Reilly; they had a son. Meehan moved to

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 ...

around 1895, working as a shearer, miner and drover and as an AWU delegate in

Wilcannia Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. Located on the Darling River, the town was the third largest inland port in the country during the river boat era of the mid-19th ce ...

and Bourke. In 1904 he was elected to 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 ...

as the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member for Darling. He held the seat until it was abolished in 1913, and he retired from parliament. He then moved to

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, where he became secretary of the AWU's Victoria Riverina branch. From 1927 to 1930 he was assistant secretary of the AWU's

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

head office. He died in

Woollahra Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. W ...

in 1930.

References

1864 births 1930 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Irish emigrants to Australia {{Australia-Labor-NewSouthWales-MP-stub