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#REDIRECT [[John Horgan (Australian politician)]] {{R from other capitalisation}} |
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'''John William Horgan''' ([[15 July]] [[1834]]–[[8 July]] [[1907]]) was a Member of the [[Western Australian Legislative Council]] in [[1888]]–[[1889|89]]. He is remembered most for his aggressive election campaigns in which he characterised six of the most prominent families in [[colony|colonial]] [[Western Australia]] as the "[[Six Hungry Families]]". |
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John Horgan was born in [[Maroon, Cork|Maroon]], [[Cork]], [[Ireland]] on [[15 July]] [[1834]]. He was educated at Dr. Moynihan's Collegiate School in Cork. In the [[1860s]] and [[1870s]] he practiced as a [[barrister]] and [[solicitor]] in Cork, becoming honorary secretary of the Cork Law Society. He became active in [[United Kingdom|British]] [[politics]], campaigning actively, and ultimately successfully, for the election to the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] of [[Joseph Ronayne]]. |
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Horgan married Mary Ann Oliff (nee Horan) in [[1861]]; they would have twelve children. In [[1876]], Horgan emigrated with his family to [[New South Wales]]. For the next five years he practiced law there. During this period there was constant conflict in the colony over [[Henry Parkes]]' plan to introduce free, compulsory, secular education. This was aggressively resisted by [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]s, whose schools would be closed. A devout Roman Catholic, Horgan was against Parkes' plan, and in January [[1881]], following the successful passing of Parkes' legislation, Horgan and his family relocated to [[Western Australia]]. |
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In Western Australia, Horgan turned his energies to improving the standing of the [[working class]]. In his work he took on working men's cases for free, and in [[1883]]–[[1884|84]] he helped secure limited reforms to the [[Master and Servant Act]]. In [[1886]], Horgan, along with [[Richard Haynes (Australian lawyer)|Richard "Dickie" Haynes]], formed Western Australia's first [[Eight Hours Association]]. |
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In May [[1886]], the Legislative Council [[Electoral region of Perth|seat of Perth]] was made vacant by the death of [[Luke Leake]]. The following month a [[by-election]] was held for the seat, and Horgan nominated. His platform was radical for its time; he advocated [[responsible government]], payment of members, [[manhood suffrage]], a land tax, and a unicameral legislature. He was an aggressive critic of the [[Government of Western Australia|Government]] and the colony's powerful ruling elite. It was during this campaign that Horgan first characterised the most wealthy and powerful families of the colony as the "Six Hungry Families", implying that they were hungry for more wealth, power and land. Although [[Edward Scott (Australian politician)|Edward Scott]] easily won the seat, Horgan surprised many by taking second place in the poll. Shortly after the election, he was successfully sued for [[libel]] by [[George Walpole Leake]], a member of one of the "Six Hungry Families", and fined £500. |
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In May [[1888]], [[Stephen Henry Parker]] petitioned for [[bankruptcy]], and was therefore obliged to resign his seat in the Legislative Council. Horgan contested the subsequent by-election, on a similar platform as previously. He remained a stauch opponent of the Government, and was especially critical of [[Governor of Western Australia|Governor]] [[Frederick Broome|Broome]], who was seen by many of the working class as overbearing and quarrelsome. To the great surprise of the colony's ruling elite, Horgan defeated his conservative opponent [[Septimus Burt]] by three votes. Stannage (1979) writes that "Horgan's victory was regarded at the time as a turning point in the history of working men's political activity.... The election had a liberating effect on the minds of the workers, analogous to the victory of [[Robert Lowe (Australian politician)|Robert Lowe]] in [[Sydney]] forty years previously." Despite the significance of his election, Horgan achieved little in the Legislative Council, and held his seat only until the next general election on [[22 January]] [[1889]], in which he was defeated by [[Edward Keene]]. |
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In August 1889, Horgan's wife died, and in February [[1891]] he married Mary Ann (Marion) Coffey. From [[1890]], Horgan practiced in partnership with [[Frederick Moorhead]], and later with M. G. Lavan. He died in [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] on [[8 July]] [[1907]], and was buried at [[East Perth, Western Australia|East Perth Cemetery]]. |
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==References== |
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* {{Black and Bolton 2001}} |
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* Stannage, Charles Thomas (1979). ''The people of Perth: a social history of Western Australia's capital city''. Perth City Council, Perth, Western Australia. ISBN 0909994862. |
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[[Category:1834 births|Horgan, John William]] |
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[[Category:1907 deaths|Horgan, John William]] |
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[[Category:Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council|Horgan, John William]] |
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[[Category:Cork people|Horgan, John William]] |
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Latest revision as of 11:19, 2 December 2007
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