Cahill ministry (1959)

The Cahill ministry (1959) or Fourth Cahill ministry was the 58th ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 29th Premier, the Honourable Joe Cahill, MLA, of the Labor Party. The ministry was the fourth and final of four consecutive occasions when the Government was led by Cahill, as Premier.

Cahill was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1925 and served until 1932, representing the seats of St George and Arncliffe before being defeated. He was re-elected in 1935, again representing Arncliffe, and then represented Cook's River between 1941 and 1959. Having served continuously as Secretary for Public Works in the first, second, and third ministries of Jim McGirr, when Deputy Premier Jack Baddeley resigned, Cahill was appointed as McGirr's deputy on 21 September 1949. McGirr resigned as Premier several years later, on 2 April 1952, and Cahill was elected as Labor Leader and became Premier.

Cahill led Labor to victory at the 1953, 1956, and 1959 state elections.

This ministry covers the period from 1 April when Cahill won the 1959 state election, until 28 October 1959.[1][2] On 22 October 1959 Cahill, a heavy smoker, died at Sydney Hospital of a myocardial infarction while still serving as Premier.[3] Cahill's deputy, the Hon. Bob Heffron, MLA succeeded Cahill as Premier.

Composition of ministry

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier Cahill following the 1959 state election on 1 April 1959, and covers the period until 28 October 1959, when the ministry was reconfigured as the First Heffron ministry. Ministers are listed in order of seniority and in most cases, serve the full term of this ministry.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Treasurer	Hon. Joseph Cahill, MLA		Labor	1 April 1959	22 October 1959	204 days
	Hon. Bob Heffron, MLA			23 October 1959	28 October 1959	5 days
Deputy Premier				1 April 1959	23 October 1959	205 days
Minister of Education					28 October 1959	210 days
Attorney–General Minister for Justice Vice-President of the Executive Council Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. Reg Downing, MLC
Chief Secretary Minister for Tourism Activities	Hon. Gus Kelly, MLA
Minister Assisting the Premier and Treasurer	Hon. Pat Hills, MLA
Minister for Health	Hon. Bill Sheahan, QC, MLA
Minister for Child Welfare Minister for Social Welfare	Hon. Frank Hawkins, MLA
Minister for Local Government Minister for Highways	Hon. Jack Renshaw, MLA
Minister for Transport	Hon. George Enticknap, MLA
Minister for Housing Minister for Co-operative Societies	Hon. Abe Landa, MLA
Minister for Conservation	Hon. Ernest Wetherell, MLA
Minister for Agriculture	Hon. Roger Nott, MLA
Minister for Labour and Industry	Hon. James Maloney, MLC
Minister for Mines	Hon. Jim Simpson, MLA
Minister for Lands	Hon. John McMahon, MLA
Minister for Public Works	Hon. Norm Ryan, MLA

See also

• Joseph Cahill - 29th Premier of New South Wales
• First Cahill ministry
• Second Cahill ministry
• Third Cahill ministry
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1959–1962
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 1958–1961

References

1. "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)". Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original (MS Excel spreadsheet) on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
2. "Part 6: Ministries" (PDF). New South Wales Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
3. "Mr John Joseph Cahill (1891-1959)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 May 2019.