George Cann (30 May 1871 – 18 October 1948) was an Australian politician who served in both the Parliament of Australia and the Parliament of New South Wales. At state level he served as a minister in the governments of Jack Lang during the 1920s. He was a miner before entering politics.

George Cann
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Nepean
In office
13 April 1910 – 31 May 1913
Preceded byEric Bowden
Succeeded byRichard Orchard
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Canterbury
In office
10 October 1914 – 1920
Preceded byHenry Peters
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1871-05-30)30 May 1871
Cramlington, England
Died18 October 1948(1948-10-18) (aged 77)
Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyLabor
Spouse
Catherine Roberts
(m. 1890)
OccupationMiner

Early life

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Cann was born at Shankhouse, Cramlington, Northumberland, England, educated at Cramlington National School and became a coalminer at eleven.[1] His elder brother John Cann migrated to New South Wales in 1887.[2] Cann married Catherine Roberts in 1890 and they had one daughter and one son. They migrated to NSW in 1900 and Cann worked as a miner near Lithgow and became involved in the Western Miners' Association. He served in the 30th Battalion of the first Australian Imperial Force from March 1916 until January 1918.[1][3]

Political career

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George Cann was a member of the Australian Labor Party, winning the Australian House of Representatives seat of Nepean at the 1910 election. He was defeated at the 1913 election. That year he unsuccessfully contested the NSW Legislative Assembly seat of Upper Hunter. In 1914, he won the 1914 Canterbury by-election, joining his brother John, then Colonial Secretary, in the Legislative Assembly. Cann held Canterbury at the 1917 election. In 1920 the district was abolished and absorbed into the new multi-member seat of St George; he was one of the members for St George until the abolition of proportional representation in 1927. He was Secretary for Mines and Minister for Labour and Industry from April 1920 to October 1921, when he became Secretary for Mines and Minister for Local Government until the defeat of the James Dooley government in December 1921. He was reappointed when Dooley regained power some hours later. He became Minister for Local Government and Minister for Public Health in Jack Lang's first ministry in June 1925. He held the Local Government portfolio until March 1926 and Public Health until May 1927. He opposed Lang's leadership and as a result lost preselection for the 1927 election where he ran unsuccessfully as an independent for Lakemba.[1][3][4]

Later life

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In 1930 Cann ran unsuccessfully as a Nationalist at the election for Lakemba.[4]

He died on 18 October 1948(1948-10-18) (aged 77) in the Sydney suburb of Strathfield, survived by his wife.[1][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "The Hon. George Cann (1871–1948)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Mr John Henry Cann (1860-1940)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Nairn, Bede (1979). "Cann, George (1871–1948)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Lakemba". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

 

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Nepean
1910–1913
Succeeded by
Parliament of New South Wales
Preceded by Member for Canterbury
1914–1920
District abolished
Preceded by Member for St George
1920–1927
With: Bagnall / Cahill
Gosling
Ley / Bagnall
Arkins
Succeeded by