John William Galbally, , (2 August 1910 – 8 July 1990) was a Labor Party politician.

Early life

Galbally was educated at St Patrick's College in East Melbourne and

Melbourne High School Melbourne High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1905, the school caters for boys from Year 9 ...

. He graduated from 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 no ...

with a

LLB 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 1931, during which time he resided at Newman College, and worked many jobs including car salesman and primary school teacher. He was a good enough Australian footballer to play in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

. Galbally played at the Collingwood Football Club, during one of their strongest eras, having won a record four successive premierships from 1927 to 1930. Under coach

Jock McHale James Francis "Jock" McHale, (12 December 1882 – 4 October 1953) was an Australian rules football player and coach for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League in a marathon career that extended from 1903 to 1949. Earl ...

and captain Syd Coventry, Galbally played two seasons with the club. He made three appearances in the

1933 VFL season The 1933 VFL season was the 37th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 29 April until 30 September, and comprised an ...

and four in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

, all wins. During this period he acted as the club's solicitor and was later Collingwood's vice-president from 1951 to 1962.

Political career

A member of the ALP since 1933, Galbally defeated Likely McBrien in 1949 for a seat in the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative C ...

for the electorate of Melbourne North. Throughout his career he was known to be a social reformer and campaigned against capital punishment. He introduced a private member's bill to ban live trap bird shooting, carried in 1958, despite it being a sport premier

Henry Bolte Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG (20 May 1908 – 4 January 1990) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of Victoria. To date he is the longest-serving Victorian premier, having been in office for over 17 consecutive years. ...

participated in. Galbally is credited for starting council committee inquiries into the proposed development at the Royal Botanic Gardens and settlement in the Little Desert. In December 1952, Galbally was appointed as the Minister of Electrical Undertakings and Minister of Forests, positions he held until June 1955 and July 1954 respectively. He was also Minister of Labour and Industry from July 1954 to June 1955. Galbally retired from politics in 1979 and was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

Legal career

In 1935 Galbally founded a legal firm, now known as ''Galbally & O'Bryan'', having been admitted as a solicitor two years earlier while playing football with Collingwood. He was called to the bar in 1956 and was then appointed a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1968.

Family and later life

He was the second born of nine children. His father, William Stanton, was a draper's salesman. Galbally himself had three daughters and two sons with his wife Sheila Marie Kenny, whom he married in 1937. One of his daughters,

Ann Galbally Ann Elizabeth Galbally (born 1945) is an Australian art historian and academic. Education and career Galbally was born in Victoria in 1945, daughter of Sheila Marie (née Kenny) and Labor Party politician, John William Galbally. She gradua ...

, is a noted art historian while his son Peter was appointed a QC in 1989. Galbally's brother

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

was a famous lawyer and another brother

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

was a well-known doctor. Both also played Australian rules football with Collingwood. Galbally suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his later life, before his death at Camberwell in 1990. He is buried at

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of four Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other n ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galbally, John 1910 births 1990 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Victoria (Australia) state politicians Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Collingwood Football Club players Australian sportsperson-politicians Australian King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Melbourne Law School alumni People educated at Melbourne High School 20th-century Australian lawyers 20th-century Australian politicians Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery People with Alzheimer's disease People from Port Melbourne Politicians from Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni politicians