Richard Valentine Keane (14 February 1881 – 26 April 1946) was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) and served as Minister for Trade and Customs from 1941 until his death in 1946. He was a member of both the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

(1929–1931) and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(1938–1946). Prior to entering politics he worked as a clerk with the

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

and served as national secretary of the

Australian Railways Union The Australian Railways Union (ARU) was an Australian trade union in existence from 1920 to 1993. The ARU was an industrial union, representing all types of workers employed in the rail industry, excluding locomotive enginedrivers and tradesm ...

(1925–1929).

Early life

Keane was born on 14 February 1881 in

Beechworth, Victoria Beechworth is a town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,290. Beechworth's many historical buildings are well pr ...

, the fourth child of Hanorah (née O'Sullivan) and Timothy Keane. His parents were Irish Catholic immigrants – his mother was born in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

and his father, a police constable, in

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. He possessed papers showing that his father had served with the Union in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

under the name "Timothy Kane", and had received a commendation for his role in the

Battle of Sailor's Creek A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. Keane was educated at

Christian Brothers College, St Kilda St Mary's College (formerly Christian Brothers College, St Kilda, Presentation College, Windsor) is an independent Catholic co-educational secondary college, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school was founded in 1878 and is both o ...

, following his father's transfer to Melbourne. He later became the first president of the school's Old Boys association. In 1897, aged 16, Keane began working as a clerk with the

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

. He soon became involved in the

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

Union career

In 1918, Keane became an officeholder in the Victorian Railways Union. In 1925 he resigned from the public service to take up a paid position as state secretary and national secretary of the

(ARU). At the time the ARU was the largest union in Victoria, with over 20,000 members. Keane supported

industrial unionism Industrial unionism is a trade union organising method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in b ...

and unsuccessfully advocated for the ARU to merge with the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoralism, pastoral and mining industries in the late 1880s and it currently has approximately 80,000 ...

(AWU). He was vice-president of the Commonwealth Council of Federated Unions and later served on the general arbitration committee of 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 ...

(ACTU).

Political career

Richard Valentine Keane reading at a desk

Keane was vice-president of the executive of the Victorian branch of the

in 1928 and its president in 1930 and from 1937 to 1938. In

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

, he stood unsuccessfully for the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

and the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

. In the October 1929 election, he was elected as the member for

in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

, but lost it at the October 1931 election. He was narrowly defeated for Bendigo at the 1934 election, but was elected to the Senate at the 1937 election. He became leader of the government in the Senate in 1943. In October 1941 Keane was appointed Minister for Trade and Customs and

Vice-President of the Executive Council The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executiv ...

in the

first Curtin Ministry The First Curtin ministry (Australian Labor Party, Labor) was the 29th List of Australian ministries, ministry of the Australian Government, Government of Australia. It was led by the country's 14th Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister, ...

and was responsible for administering wartime rationing and price controls. In 1946 he travelled to the United States to terminate Australia's

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

arrangements. While leaving the

Waldorf Astoria The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story, Art Deco landmark des ...

in New York in March 1946, Keane was "wildly cheered" by "hundreds of celebrity-conscious New Yorkers" who mistook him for

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, who was also staying at the hotel. He subsequently quipped that "I somehow wish I had been smoking a cigar". Keane died at a hospital in Washington, D.C., on 26 April 1946, aged 65. He had collapsed earlier in the day at the Australian embassy due to heart trouble, which was attributed to over-work. He had taken over the administration of the embassy while awaiting the arrival of the new ambassador,

Norman Makin Norman John Oswald Makin AO (31 March 188920 July 1982) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as Speaker of the House of Representatives (1929–1932), a cabinet minister dur ...

Personal life

In 1909, Keane married Ruby Thorne, a milliner, with whom he had two daughters and a son. He was widowed in 1923 and remarried in 1940 to Millicent Dunn, a typist, with whom he had another daughter, Virginia. Keane stood tall and reportedly weighed .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Richard Valentine 1881 births 1946 deaths Australian people of Irish descent People from Beechworth People educated at St Mary's College, Melbourne Australian trade unionists Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bendigo Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Australian MPs 1929–1931