Louis Andrew Walsh (29 March 1899 – 1 September 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 ...

between 1953 and 1956 and again between 1962 and 1965. He was a member of the Labor Party.

Early life

Walsh was born at Yatteyattah near

Milton, New South Wales Milton is a village in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, within the City of Shoalhaven. It was founded in 1860, named after the property of post master George Knight and became an important regional centre during the 19th Cent ...

and was the son of a dairy farmer. He was educated at

Sydney Teachers College The Sydney Teachers' College was a tertiary education institution that trained school teachers in Sydney, Australia, Sydney, Australia. It existed from 1906 until the end of 1981, when it became the Sydney Institute of Education, a part of the ne ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Economics degree in 1923. Walsh was employed as a high school teacher by the

New South Wales Department of Education The New South Wales Department of Education, a department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for the delivery and co-ordination of early childhood, primary school, secondary school, vocational education, adult, migrant and hi ...

and became an official in the

New South Wales Teachers Federation The New South Wales Teachers Federation (also known simply as the Federation) is the registered trade union that covers New South Wales (NSW) public school teachers. The New South Wales Teachers Federation represents all teachers in NSW public ...

. He was elected an alderman of Randwick City Council between 1950 and 1953 and between 1959 and 1962 and was mayor in 1952. In the period he was absent from parliament between 1956 and 1962, Walsh was a teacher at

Sydney Technical High School Sydney Technical High School (STHS) is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in Bexley, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1911 as part of Sydney Techn ...

and

Randwick Boys High School Randwick Boys' High School (RBHS) is a high school located in Randwick, Sydney, Australia, between Rainbow Street and Avoca Street. It is a boys' high school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education with students from years 7 to ...

State Parliament

Walsh was the endorsed Labor candidate for the seat of Coogee at the 1950 election, but was defeated by the incumbent

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 ...

member and future

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: ** In ...

, Kevin Ellis. This was the first of seven elections over 18 years were contested by Walsh and Ellis. Walsh defeated Ellis, during a statewide swing to Labor, at the next election in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

. However, he was again defeated by Ellis at the

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 ...

when Labor's vote fell because of the split in the federal party caused by the formation of the DLP. Walsh was unsuccessful at the 1959 election, but defeated Ellis in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

. Ellis regained the seat, yet again, in the general anti-Labor swing that resulted in the defeat of the Renshaw government in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

to regain the seat, Walsh made a final unsuccessful attempt to win the seat in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Lou 1899 births 1978 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Mayors of Randwick