1300 187 187
He well and truly does.
Colour went with King O’Malley. He breezes into the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition of 1888 to have international pressmen rocking with laughter as he tells his stories. He fights two elections in 1899 for the South Australian Colonial Parliament that remain lively, unreported chapters in its history. And during sixteen years in Federal Parliament, he packs ‘em in. He wins a seat in the newly federated Australian Parliament and fights off bitter, entrenched opposition to lead the Labor Party in founding a 'people’s bank, the Commonwealth Bank.
As an old man in Melbourne, O’Malley is appalled at a bid in 1939 toward undermining his bank with privatisation. He calls on Australians to swear by the tombs of their ancestors that they won’t allow this and would have been irate in its loss to privatisation in recent years. He was critical of the way his Commonwealth Bank was being run – as he would be today.
King O’Malley’s stirring life is the subject of three biographies and a hit musical. King strove amid central themes in Australian history – the vote for women, Federation, pensions, and the fight over conscription. As Minister for Home Affairs, he launched the bold bid to push a railway across the wastes to West Australia and led the building of Canberra. King O’Malley was a national hero of a high order.
About the Author
Larry Noye is a retired journalist whose career began as a copy boy at Truth in Melbourne after leaving Williamstown High School in 1944. A cadetship at The Footscray Mail followed, also stints on daily newspapers in Bendigo, Geelong, Launceston and Hobart. Canberra and a political life called. He was initially on the press gallery staff of Australian United Press in 1958 and, after working elsewhere, was back in the ACT for fourteen years. This included casual work with AAP, the ABC and government departments as well as eight years with the Defences. He has been a regular contributor to magazines and the press generally, including writing on Australian football and naval history.
ISBN: 9781921362224
ISBN-10: 1921362227
Audience:
General
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 439
Published: 1st June 2009
Publisher: Sid Harta Publishers
Dimensions (cm): 21.5 x 14.0
9am - 4pm AEST, Monday - Friday
