Sir James Daniel Connolly (2 December 1869 – 12 February 1962) was an Australian politician who served in both houses of the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative Ass ...

. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1901 to 1914 and a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1914 to 1917, and served as a minister in the governments of

Newton Moore Major General Sir Newton James Moore, (17 May 1870 – 28 October 1936) was an Australian politician, businessman and army officer. He served as the eighth Premier of Western Australia from 1906 to 1910 and, following service in the First World ...

and Frank Wilson. Connolly spent much of his later life in the United Kingdom, where he served as agent-general for Western Australia (1917 to 1923) and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

(1929 to 1932).

Early life

Connolly was born in

Allora Allora is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Allora had a population of 1,223 people. Geography Allora is on the Darling Downs in south-eastern Queensland, Australia, by ro ...

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_ ...

, to Irish Catholic parents. He was initially schooled at

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

, but later attended St Joseph's College, Brisbane, before training as a quantity surveyor. Connolly went to the

Western Australian Goldfields The Western Australian Goldfields is a term for areas in Western Australia that have had significant areas of gold mining occur. Range of goldfields There are goldfields across the state of Western Australia, from the Kimberley region to the so ...

in 1893, working as a building contractor, and in 1899 was elected to the Kalgoorlie Town Council.James Daniel Connolly
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2016.

Politics

In 1901, Connolly stood in a by-election for the Legislative Council, and was elected to replace Alexander Matheson in North-East Province. He was appointed to the ministry in 1906, when

replaced

Hector Rason Sir Cornthwaite Hector William James Rason (18 June 1858 – 15 March 1927), better known as Hector Rason, was the seventh Premier of Western Australia. Early life Rason was born in Cleeve, Somerset, in England on 18 June 1858. He was the son ...

as premier, becoming Colonial Secretary and Minister for Commerce and Labour. He continued as Colonial Secretary when Frank Wilson became premier in September 1910, serving until the Wilson government lost power at the 1911 state election. In early 1914, Connolly resigned from the Legislative Council in order to contest the Legislative Assembly at the 1914 election. He defeated the sitting

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,

Walter Dwyer Sir Walter Dwyer (27 August 1875 – 22 March 1950) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1911 to 1914, and later serving a ...

, in the seat of Perth, running for the new

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. In July 1916, Frank Wilson became premier for a second time, and Connolly was appointed an honorary minister in the new ministry.

Later life

Connolly resigned from parliament in June 1917 to accept the position of Agent-General for Western Australia, representing the state government in London. Knighted in 1920 for his services, he continued as agent-general until 1923, and during his period in office assisted in the creation of the

Group Settlement Scheme The Group Settlement Scheme was an assisted migration scheme which operated in Western Australia from the early 1920s. It was engineered by Premier of Western Australia, Premier James Mitchell (Australian politician), James Mitchell and followe ...

. Connolly was Agent-General for

from 1929 to 1932, and during that time helped promoted Maltese immigration to Australia."MALTESE MIGRANTS"
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 1 February 1929. He remained in London until his death in February 1962 (aged 92), serving as a director of various companies and banks. He had married Catherine Charlotte Edwards in 1898, with whom he had five daughters.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, James 1869 births 1962 deaths Agents-General for Western Australia Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Australian people of Irish descent Australian Roman Catholics Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Western Australian local councillors High Commissioners of Malta to the United Kingdom Crown Colony of Malta people