William James Riordan (20 April 1882 – 15 September 1955) was an Australian politician and judge.

Early life

He was born in

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

to William Riordan and Mary, ''née'' Walsh. After attending Mackay State School he became a labourer on the Cairns– Mulgrave railway line and then a fireman for the

Chillagoe Chillagoe is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Chillagoe had a population of 251 people. It was once a thriving mining town for a range of minerals, but is now reduced to a small z ...

Railway Company. While there he became President of the Chillagoe Amalgamated Workers' Union and in 1903 an organiser with the Far North Australia Workers' Union (FNAWU). On 28 March 1907 he married Annie Helen Page, with whom he had a son and two daughters.

Politics

In 1916 he became state president of the FNAWU, and in 1917 was appointed to the

Queensland Legislative Council The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which to ...

for the Labor Party. Riordan served in the Council until its abolition, according to Labor policy, in 1922. In 1925 he moved from president to secretary of the FNAWU, a position he held until 1933 when he was appointed to the Queensland Industrial Court. He was also involved in the Labor press as director of '' The Daily Standard'' and '' The Worker'', which were published in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. He served on the court until 1953, and from 1951 to 1952 was chairman of the Royal Commission on Offcourse Betting.

Later life

He had remarried, to Lyla Elizabeth Boland on 2 October 1943. He died in Brisbane in 1955 and was buried in

Lutwyche Cemetery Lutwyche Cemetery is a cemetery located at Kedron, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It opened in 1878 and saw its first burial in the same year. It is located at the corner of Gympie and Kitchener Roads, approximately ten kilometres north of B ...

.Riordan William James
– Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 21 February 2015. His brothers Darby and

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

were also politicians, Darby as federal member for Kennedy from 1929 to 1936 and Ernest as a Queensland MLA from 1936 to 1944 and from 1950 to 1954. Jim Riordan's son

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

was elected to the seat of Kennedy on Darby's death in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riordan, Jim 1882 births 1955 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians