McGirr ministry (1947–1950)

McGirr ministry
53rd Cabinet of the State of New South Wales
Premier Jim McGirr
Date formed	19 May 1947
Date dissolved	30 June 1950
People and organisations
Monarch	George VI
Governor	Sir John Northcott
Premier	Jim McGirr
Deputy Premier	Jack Baddeley Joe Cahill
No. of ministers	15
Member party	Labor
Status in legislature	Majority government
Opposition party	UAP/Country coalition
Opposition leader	Vernon Treatt
History
Election	1947 New South Wales election
Predecessor	First McGirr ministry
Successor	Third McGirr ministry

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, Jim McGirr, of the 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.[1]

This ministry covers the period from 19 May 1947 until the 1950 state election, held on 30 June,[2][3] when McGirr led Labor to victory and the Third McGirr ministry was sworn in.

Composition of ministry

The composition of the ministry was announced by Premier McGirr on 19 May 1947. The principal changes from the first McGirr ministry were that Bill Dunn was dropped, replaced by Bill Sheahan and the portfolio of Building Materials was created, filled by Claude Matthews. There was a rearrangement of the Ministry in September 1949, triggered by the resignation of Deputy Premier, Jack Baddeley. Baddeley suffered a heart attack in December 1948 while serving as Acting Premier.[4] Joe Cahill succeeded Baddeley as Deputy Premier. The portfolio of Co-operative Societies was created and filled by Clarrie Martin.

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Treasurer	Jim McGirr [a]		Labor	19 May 1947	30 June 1950	3 years, 42 days
Deputy Premier	Jack Baddeley [a]				8 September 1949	2 years, 112 days
	Joe Cahill			21 September 1949	30 June 1950	282 days
Chief Secretary	Jack Baddeley [a]			19 May 1947	8 September 1949	2 years, 112 days
	Jim McGirr			8 September 1949	21 September 1949	13 days
	Claude Matthews			21 September 1949	30 June 1950	282 days
Secretary for Mines	Jack Baddeley [a]			19 May 1947	8 September 1949	2 years, 112 days
	Jim McGirr			8 September 1949	21 September 1949	13 days
	William Dickson, MLC			21 September 1949	30 June 1950	282 days
Minister for National Emergency Services	Jack Baddeley [a]			19 May 1947	8 September 1949	2 years, 112 days
	Jim McGirr			8 September 1949	21 September 1949	13 days
Minister for Housing Assistant Treasurer	Clive Evatt [b]			19 May 1947	30 June 1950	3 years, 42 days
Minister for Education	Bob Heffron [a]
Attorney–General	Clarrie Martin, KC [c]
Minister for Co-operative Societies				21 September 1949		282 days
Minister for Labour and Industry and Social Welfare	Hamilton Knight [a]			19 May 1947	29 October 1947	163 days
	Jack Baddeley			29 October 1947	9 March 1948	132 days
	Frank Finnan			9 March 1948	30 June 1950	2 years, 113 days
Minister of Justice Vice-President of the Executive Council Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council	Reg Downing, MLC [a]			19 May 1947	30 June 1950	3 years, 42 days
Secretary for Public Works Minister for Local Government	Joe Cahill [a]
Minister for Health	Gus Kelly [a]
Minister for Transport	Maurice O'Sullivan [a]
Minister for Agriculture	Eddie Graham [a]
Minister for Conservation	George Weir [a]
Secretary for Lands	Bill Sheahan
Minister in Charge of Tourist Activities and Immigration	Frank Finnan [a]			29 October 1947	9 March 1948	132 days
	Claude Matthews			9 March 1948	21 September 1949	1 year, 196 days
	Joshua Arthur			21 September 1949	30 June 1950	282 days
Minister without portfolio				15 September 1949	21 September 1949	6 days
Minister for Building Materials	Claude Matthews			19 May 1947	9 March 1948	132 days
	William Dickson, MLC			9 March 1948	30 June 1950	2 years, 113 days
Assistant Minister				19 May 1947	9 March 1948	132 days

  Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

1. Retained portfolios of from First McGirr ministry.
2. Retained portfolio of Housing from First McGirr ministry.
3. Retained portfolio of Attorney–General from First McGirr ministry.

See also

• McGirr ministries
• First
• Third

• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
• 1947–1950

• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council
• 1946–1949
• 1949–1952

References

1. Clune, David. "McGirr, James (Jim) (1890-1957)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
2. "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
3. "Former members of the New South Wales Parliament, 1856–2006". New South Wales Parliament. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
4. Farrell, Frank. "Baddeley, John Marcus (1881–1953)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 4 May 2019.

 

New South Wales government ministries
Preceded by McGirr ministry (1947)	McGirr ministry (1947–1950) 1947–1950	Succeeded by McGirr ministry (1950–1952)