James Thomas Dooley (26 April 1877 – 2 January 1950) served twice, briefly, as

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...

during the early 1920s.

Early years

Born in the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

of Curracreehan (possibly Currycreaghan), near

Ballymahon Ballymahon () on the River Inny is a town in the southern part of County Longford, Ireland. It is located at the junction of the N55 National secondary road and the R392 regional road. History Ballymahon derives its name from the Irish lang ...

County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, he was the fourth son of Thomas Dooley, a farmer, and his wife Elizabeth, née O'Connor. He arrived in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

at the age of 8, where he attended a state school before commencing work as a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

's assistant at twelve and was later

apprenticed Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

. He attended evening classes and joined the college's

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

and

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a Discussion moderator, moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred ...

society and the Labor Party. In about 1901, he worked at

Cobar Cobar is a town in central western New South Wales, Australia whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier Hig ...

and other outback

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 ...

before settling in

Lithgow, New South Wales Lithgow is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the administrative center of the City of Lithgow local government area. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of Wil ...

and marrying Kate Rodé Trundle in 1905.

Parliamentary career

In 1907, he was elected to the seat of

Hartley Hartley may refer to: Places Australia *Hartley, New South Wales *Hartley, South Australia **Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district Canada *Hartley Bay, British Columbia United Kingdom *Hartley, Cumbria *Hartley, Plymou ...

in the Legislative Assembly and was its youngest member at the time. From 1920 to 1927 he represented Bathurst. On the expulsion of Premier

William Holman William Arthur Holman (4 August 1871 – 5 June 1934) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1913 to 1920. He came to office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Labor Party, ...

and others from the Labor Party on the

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

issue in November 1916, Dooley became deputy

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

Ernest Durack Ernest Durack (10 August 1882 – 16 November 1967) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1913 until 1917, and the leader of the Labor Party (ALP) in New South Wales for three months unti ...

. When Durack resigned in February 1917, John Storey became party leader and Dooley remained deputy leader. The 1920 election was evenly divided with Labor only able to govern due to

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

Daniel Levy controversially accepting re-election as

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. Dooley was appointed Colonial Secretary (including responsibility for state enterprises and the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

) and Minister for Housing from April 1920 to October 1921. Dooley acted as

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

during Storey's six-month trip to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(January–July 1921) and when Storey was sick. He became Premier on Storey's death in October 1921. Levy resigned as speaker on 12 December 1921, replaced by Labor's Simon Hickey and the government resigned after it was defeated on the floor of the house 44 votes to 45 and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Sir Walter Davidson declined to call an early election. New Premier George Fuller did not have a majority in parliament, was also refused an early election and resigned within seven hours of his appointment. Dooley regained power with Levy agreeing to remain as speaker. He lost a highly sectarian election campaign to Fuller in April 1922. As the result of a dispute with a party executive, dominated by 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 ...

, he was expelled from the party in February 1923, but reinstated by the NSW Labor Party annual conference later that year. In August 1923, he resigned and Jack Lang became leader. During the 1925-27 Lang Government Dooley served as Speaker. Afterwards he fell out with the Labor leadership, lost Labor preselection for Bathurst, and stood unsuccessfully as an Independent Labor candidate for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in the 1931 federal election and for Hartley in the 1932 State election, which swept Lang from office. He also ran unsuccessfully against

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

in North Sydney in 1940. His first wife died in 1936, and he married Irene Mary Kenney in 1946. He owned two Lithgow hotels during his later years.

Death

James Dooley died on 2 January 1950 at the Liverpool Hospital in Sydney. He was survived by his wife, son and daughter. His funeral was held at St. Mary's Cathedral on 4 January 1950, and he was interred at Botany Cemetery on the same day.Sydney Morning Herald: Funeral Notice 04/01/1950 (page 22)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dooley, James 1877 births 1950 deaths 19th-century Irish people Politicians from County Longford Premiers of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Speakers of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Leaders of the Opposition in New South Wales Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Burials at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park