Denis ('Dinny') Lovegrove (25 September 1904 – 25 January 1979) was an Australian politician. Born in Carlton (then a thoroughly working-class suburb of Melbourne), Lovegrove left school early, and held a variety of jobs including those of brass foundry worker, shipping office clerk and plasterer. In 1930 he joined the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian communist party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been ...

, but he was expelled in 1933. Subsequently, when he publicly criticised the party, he was administered a severe thrashing in an attack carried out by communist thugs. He then joined the Labor Party and served on its state executive from 1938 to 1955 (holding the office of state president from 1943 to 1944). In addition, he was federal president of the ALP from 1953 to 1954. He was secretary of the Fibrous Plaster and Plaster Workers' Union (FPPWU) from 1935 to 1947 and its president 1955 to 1978, president of the Trades Hall Council in 1938, and a delegate to the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

. Until 1954, he was associated with the hardline anti-communist

Industrial Groups The Industrial Groups were groups formed by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the late 1940s, by Catholic ALP members aligned with B. A. Santamaria's "Movement" within the ALP from 1944, to combat alleged Communist Party infiltration in the t ...

; but in that year he decisively broke with them, and remained loyal to the ALP and its leader

John Cain John Cain may refer to: * John Cain (34th Premier of Victoria) (1882–1957), Australian politician * John Cain (41st Premier of Victoria) (1931–2019), Australian politician, son of the above ** John Cain Arena, sports arena in Melbourne, Austral ...

(Premier 1952–55) after the 'groupers' were forced out. Lovegrove was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

in 1955 as the member for Carlton, transferring to Fitzroy three years later. . From 1958 to 1967 he was Deputy Leader of the Opposition, which during those years was led by

Clive Stoneham Clive Philip Stoneham, OBE (12 April 1909 – 3 July 1992) was an Australian politician. He was an ALP member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for over 27 years from November 1942 to April 1970, representing the electorates of Maryboroug ...

. He moved to the new seat of

Sunshine Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically per ...

in 1967, retired from the legislature in 1973, and died at

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

in 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovegrove, Denis 1904 births 1979 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians People from Carlton, Victoria Politicians from Melbourne