Sir Desmond Henry O'Neil (27 September 1920 – 25 September 1999) was an Australian politician who was a

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. For example, while the political systems ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

from 1959 to 1980. He was a minister in the governments of Sir

David Brand Sir David Brand Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving premier of Western Australia, in office from 1959 to 1971, and was state leader of the Liberal Pa ...

and Sir

Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was an Australian politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 8 April 1974 to 25 January 1982. A member of the Western Australian Liberal Party, Liberal Par ...

, and served as deputy premier to Court between 1975 and 1980.

Early life

Born in Perth, to Lillian Frances (née Egan) and Henry McLelland O'Neil, O'Neil went to Aquinas College, and later attended

Claremont Teachers College Claremont Teachers College was Western Australia's first post-secondary teaching institution. It opened in 1902 and closed in 1981, when it became a College of Advanced Education then a campus of Edith Cowan University before being acquired by ...

. Enlisting in the

Citizen Military Forces The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the military reserve force, reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citize ...

and later the Australian Imperial Force, during World War II he saw service in New Guinea, serving with the signal corps of the 3rd Division with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. On returning to Australia, O'Neil worked as a schoolteacher in country Western Australia, and was headmaster of schools at Roebourne, Dowerin, Wilga, Nyamup, and Donnelly River.

Politics

At the 1959 state election, O'Neil contested the seat of Canning, located in the southern suburbs of Perth, despite having only joined the Liberal Party the previous year. The seat had been held by

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 ...

candidate William Gaffy since 1956 (and by Labor since 1953), but O'Neil secured 51.04% on first preferences as

's Liberal–

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

coalition won the first of four consecutive elections. At the 1962 election, O'Neil successfully transferred to the newly created seat of East Melville, which was a safe seat for the Liberals throughout its existence. His old seat of Canning was lost to the Labor candidate, Don May. After the 1965 election, O'Neil was made Minister for Housing and Minister for Labour, positions that he held until the Brand government's defeat at the 1971 election. Following Brand's retirement as leader of the Liberal Party in 1972,

, his deputy, was elected to succeed him as

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

, with O'Neil replacing Court as deputy leader. John Tonkin's one-term Labor government was defeated in 1974, and O'Neil was made Minister for Housing, Minister for Works, and Minister for Water Supplies. Court initially governed in coalition with the National Country Party, led by Ray McPharlin, but the coalition collapsed in May 1975, and O'Neil consequently replaced McPharlin as deputy premier when a new ministry was constituted the following month, also becoming

Minister for the North-West Minister for Regional Development is a position in the government of Western Australia, currently held by Don Punch of the Labor Party. The position was first created in 1977, for the government of Charles Court, and has existed in most governm ...

. The ministry was again reconstituted following the 1977 election, with O'Neil losing the housing, works, and water portfolios, but gaining the roles of Chief Secretary, Minister for Police, and Minister for Regional Administration.

Later life

O'Neil remained deputy premier and minister until his retirement at the 1980 state election, with

Anthony Trethowan Antony Markham Trethowan (19 December 1945 – 6 May 2015) was an Australian politician and Anglican minister who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1980 to 1986, representing the seat of East Melv ...

succeeding him in East Melville. He had been created a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

1980 New Year Honours The 1980 New Year Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 31 December 1979 to cele ...

.O'NEILL, Desmond Henry
ic– It's An Honour. Retrieved 19 March 2015. Following his retirement, he served as chairman of the State Lotteries Commission from 1980 to 1984, and was also chairman of the WA Greyhound Racing Association from 1981 to 1985. O'Neil died at Castledare Retirement Village in 1999. He had married Nancy Jean Culver in 1944, with whom he had two daughters.

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:ONeil, Des 1920 births 1999 deaths Australian Army officers Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian schoolteachers Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Perth, Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians People educated at Aquinas College, Perth