McGirr ministry (1947–50)

The McGirr ministry (1947–1950) or Second McGirr ministry was the 53rd ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 28th Premier, the Honourable Jim McGirr, MLA, of the Australian Labor Party. The ministry was the second of three consecutive occasions when the Government was led by McGirr, as Premier.

McGirr was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1922 and served continuously until 1952, holding the various seats of Cootamundra, Cumberland, Bankstown, and Liverpool. Having served in the third ministry of Jack Lang, and the first and second ministries of William McKell, McGirr was variously torn between Lang Labor and the newly formed Australian Labor Party. When McKell stood aside as Premier in 1947 in order to take up an appointment as Governor-General of Australia, McGirr was elected Labor Leader and became Premier. McGirr led Labor to victory at the 1947 state election.

This ministry covers the period from 19 May 1947 until the 1950 state election, held on 30 June^[1][2] when McGirr led Labor to victory and the Third McGirr ministry was sworn in.

Composition of ministry

First arrangement

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier McGirr on 19 May 1947 and covers the period up to 21 September 1949; with several minor rearrangements. Ministers are listed in order of seniority and in some cases, serve the full term of parliament.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Colonial Treasurer	Hon. Jim McGirr, MLA		Labor	19 May 1947	30 June 1950	3 years, 42 days
Deputy Premier Colonial Secretary Secretary for Mines Minister for National Emergency Services	Hon. Jack Baddeley, MLA				8 September 1949	2 years, 112 days
Minister for Housing Assistant Treasurer	Hon. Clive Evatt, KC, LLB, MLA				30 June 1950	3 years, 42 days
Minister of Education	Hon. Bob Heffron, MLA
Attorney–General	Hon. Captain Clarrie Martin, MEc, LLB, AAlS
Minister for Labour and Industry and Social Services	Hon. Hamilton Knight, MLA				29 October 1947	163 days
	Hon. Jack Baddeley, MLA			29 October 1947	9 March 1948	132 days
	Hon. Frank Finnan, MLA			9 March 1948	30 June 1950	2 years, 113 days
Minister for Justice Vice-President of the Executive Council Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. Reg Downing, MLC			19 May 1947	30 June 1950	3 years, 42 days
Secretary for Public Works Minister for Local Government	Hon. Joseph Cahill, MLA
Minister for Health	Hon. Gus Kelly, MLA
Minister for Transport	Hon. Maurice O'Sullivan, MLA
Assistant Minister	Hon. William Dickson, MLC				9 March 1948	132 days
Minister for Agriculture	Hon. Eddie Graham, MLA				30 June 1950	3 years, 42 days
Minister for Conservation	Hon. George Weir, LLB, MLA
Minister in Charge of Tourist Activities and Immigration	Hon. Frank Finnan, MLA				9 March 1948	132 days
	Hon. Claude Matthews, MLA			9 March 1948	21 September 1949	1 year, 196 days
Minister for Building Materials				19 May 1947	9 March 1948	132 days
	Hon. William Dickson, MLC			9 March 1948	21 September 1949	1 year, 196 days
Secretary for Lands	Hon. Bill Sheahan, QC, MLA			19 May 1947	30 June 1950	3 years, 42 days

Second arrangement

The rearrangement of the Ministry was triggered by the resignation of Deputy Premier, Jack Baddeley on 8 September 1949. Baddeley suffered a heart attack in December 1948 while serving as Acting Premier.^[3] Joseph Cahill succeeded Baddeley as Deputy Premier. Ministers are listed in order of seniority. Only changes in portfolios are shown and covers the period up until the 1950 state election.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Colonial Secretary Secretary for Mines Minister for National Emergency Services	Hon. Jim McGirr, MLA		Labor	8 September 1949	21 September 1949	13 days
Deputy Premier	Hon. Joseph Cahill, MLA			21 September 1949	30 June 1950	282 days
Colonial Secretary	Hon. Claude Matthews, MLA
Minister for Co-operative Societies	Hon. Captain Clarrie Martin, MEc, LLB, AAlS
Secretary for Mines Minister for Building Materials	Hon. William Dickson, MLC
Minister without portfolio	Hon. Joshua Arthur, MLA			15 September 1949	21 September 1949	6 days
Minister in Charge of Tourist Activities and Immigration				21 September 1949	30 June 1950	282 days

See also

• Jim McGirr - 28th Premier of New South Wales
• First McGirr ministry
• Third McGirr ministry
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1947–1950
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 1946–1949
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 1949–1952

References

1. "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)" (Excel spreadsheet). Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
2. Wah, Malvyne Jong; Page, Jeffrey E. (November 2007). "New South Wales Parliamentary Record 1824 – 2007" (PDF) VIII. Parliament of New South Wales: 276–277. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
3. "Mr John Marcus Baddeley (1881 - 1953)". Members of Parliament. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 February 2010.