William James Scully (1 February 1883 – 19 March 1966) was an Australian politician and farmer. He was a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP) and held ministerial office in the governments of

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

and

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1945, follow ...

, serving as Minister for Commerce (1941–1942), Commerce and Agriculture (1942–1946) and

Vice-President of the Executive Council The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executiv ...

(1946–1949). He served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1937 to 1949, representing the

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 ...

seat of Gwydir.

Early life

Born in Sydney to Thomas James Scully and his wife Sarah Lucy Rutherford, he was educated at a small school near Tamworth. He and his brothers worked as contract labourers, and by the age of 21 Scully was a contractor. In 1912 he became a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. He was also involved with the Tamworth Progress Association and the Primary Producers' Union of New South Wales. At Tamworth in 1925 he married Grace Myrtle Kilbride.

NSW politics

In 1903, Scully joined the Tamworth Political Labor League and soon rose to become president. After three unsuccessful attempts to enter 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 ...

, he succeeded his brother

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, in the electorate of Namoi in 1923. Although he agreed with many of the views of

New South Wales Premier 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. ...

Jack Lang, Scully remained loyal to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

James Scullin James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 – 28 January 1953) was an Australian Labor Party politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Scullin led Labor to government at the 1929 Australian federal election. He was the first Catho ...

, and to the

. He lost Namoi in 1932.

Federal politics

Having bred horses for five years, Scully stood in a 1937 by-election for the federal seat of Gwydir, which he won. When Labor won government in 1941, the Prime Minister,

, appointed him Minister for Commerce, to which was added Agriculture in 1942. He held this position under Curtin,

Frank Forde Francis Michael Forde (18 July 189028 January 1983) was an Australian politician who served as prime minister of Australia from 6 to 13 July 1945. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1932 to 1946. He served as pri ...

and

, and chaired the Australian Food Council. "The Scully Plan", which aimed to guarantee wheat farmers a minimum price of four shillings per bushel, was introduced in 1942. Scully was appointed

in 1946, a post he held until 1949, when he was defeated at the elections. He retired to Tamworth, where he grew

lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

and served on Tamworth City Council. He was also involved with the New England University College, the Tamworth and District Workmen's Club, and the Tamworth Cricket Association. Renowned for his integrity, sincerity and directness, Scully died on 19 March 1966 and was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scully, William 1883 births 1966 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Gwydir Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians Australian justices of the peace