
Simon Hickey (6 June 1878 – 18 May 1958) was an Australian politician.
He was born at Botobolar near
Mudgee
Mudgee () is a town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council Local gov ...
to agricultural labourer Patrick Hickey, an Irish-American, and Mary, ''née'' Swift. His family moved to Menah in 1882 and to
Auburn in 1890. Hickey received a primary education but at the age of thirteen left school to work as a drayman's assistant, eventually being apprenticed to a Mudgee saddler in 1893. He worked in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
for the saddler's firm, which failed. In 1911 he married Hilda Ellen Dacey, daughter of
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
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MP
John Dacey
John Rowland Dacey (1 June 1854 – 11 April 1912) was an Irish-born Australian politician. He moved to Victoria, Australia, with his mother after his father died. Eventually orphaned, Dacey moved to Sydney with his wife and began working ...
.
In 1912 he entered the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...
as the Labor member for
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
on the death of his father-in-law; he moved to the multi-member seat of
Botany
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
in 1920. The 1920 election was evenly divided with Labor only able to govern due to
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
Daniel Levy controversially accepting re-election as
speaker
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* Speaker, a person who produces speech
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Arts and entertainment
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. Levy resigned as speaker and on 13 December 1921 Hickey was elected
Speaker
Speaker most commonly refers to:
* Speaker, a person who produces speech
* Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound
** Computer speakers
Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* "Speaker" (song), by David ...
. This left the
Dooley Labor Government without a majority in parliament. Eight days later the government was defeated on the floor and resigned. Hickey resigned as speaker, replaced by Levy which enabled Labor to regain government. His term remains the shortest in the history of the Assembly. He was defeated in 1922 but in 1925 was given a life appointment to the
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
, which he held until the council's reconstitution in 1934.
[
Hickey's memoir, ''Travelled Roads'', was published in 1951.]
Hickey died at Bellevue Hill on .
His son was Sir Justin Hickey.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickey, Simon
1878 births
1958 deaths
Speakers of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales