Patrick Darcy Hills (31 December 1917 – 22 April 1992) was a New South Wales politician. He served in various high offices across the state most notably the Deputy Premier of New South Wales,

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

and as the

Lord Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has be ...

Early life

Hills was born in the

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 ...

suburb of Surry Hills. He was educated at Marist Brothers High School, Darlinghurst and was apprenticed as an electrical engineer. He was an alderman on Sydney City Council from 1948 to 1956 and

from 1953 to 1956.

Political career

Hills 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 member for Phillip in 1954, representing the Labor Party; he held the seat till its abolition in 1981. Then, until 1988, he served as member for Elizabeth. He was Minister for Local Government in the cabinet of Premier

Robert Heffron Robert James Heffron (10 September 189027 July 1978), also known as Bob Heffron or R. J. Heffron, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, union organiser and Labor Party Premier of New South Wales from 1959 to 1964. Born in New Zealand ...

(1959-1964). When Heffron retired in April 1964, Hills and Deputy Premier Jack Renshaw were considered the most likely successors, but his relative youth and manner compared to Renshaw was seen as an obstacle, as an article in ''

The Bulletin Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * Bulletin (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Debate, ...

'' noted: "Hills, who rose rapidly in the parliamentary party under the patronage of the late Joe Cahill, lists in “'' Who’s Who''” one of his hobbies as “study of local government administration”, a demonstration of his essential dourness. He has the vice, for a politician, of not suffering fools gladly and it is this that feeds a habit of arrogance which has made him many unnecessary enemies." In any event, Hills did not contest the leadership in the caucus ballot held on 29 April 1964, and Renshaw was elected leader and premier unopposed. Hills did however contest for the deputy premiership, and was successful 33 votes to 19 against health minister Bill Sheahan. Following Renshaw's departure from the Labor leadership, Hills was the State Opposition Leader from 1968 to 1973; at the

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

state elections he was narrowly defeated by the Liberal Premier, Sir Robert Askin. During his long Parliamentary service of 34 years, Hills served terms as Deputy Premier and as Minister in a number of portfolios including Local Government, Highways, Mines, Energy, Industrial Relations, Technology, Roads and Employment. In opposition he served as Deputy Leader for three years and Leader for five years. His many notable initiatives and achievements as a Minister include the Sydney to Newcastle Highway, the construction of the

Gladesville Bridge Gladesville Bridge is a heritage-listed concrete arch road bridge that carries Victoria Road over the Parramatta River, linking the Sydney suburbs of Huntleys Point and Drummoyne, in the local government areas of Canada Bay and Hunter's Hill, ...

and establishment of the State Planning Authority now known as the NSW Department of Planning. One of his major achievements was the building of the Eraring and

Bayswater Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

power stations. He has been accused of sabotaging the 1948 Cumberland County Plan for Sydney, "flogging the green belt out the back door before the ink was dry".

Later life and career

He served as a member of the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sports Ground Trust from July 1961 to December 1989, and was Chairman of the Trust during its significant expansion period from 1977 to 1989. Until

John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to: Politicians United Kingdom politicians * J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918 *John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...

's resignation in 2014, Hills was the only New South Wales Labor Leader not to have been premier since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Hills died in Sydney and was cremated with his ashes interred at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens.

Honours

Hills was made an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) in the 1988 Australia Day Honours. The suburb of

Hillsdale, New South Wales Hillsdale is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hillsdale is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Bayside Council. The suburb is named after Pat Hills, ...

is named after Hills.

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hills, Patrick Darcy 1917 births 1992 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Deputy Premiers of New South Wales Officers of the Order of Australia Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney Leaders of the Opposition in New South Wales Politicians from Sydney Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Australian Labor Party councillors 20th-century Australian politicians Councillors of Sydney County Council