Hugh Mahon

Early life

Mahon was born in Ireland and emigrated Killurin 1867 with his family to the United States, where he learned to print. He returned back to Ireland in 1880 and was jailed in 1881 along with members of the Irish National Land League, but was released because of his poor health. In 1882 he emigrated to Australia to escape being arrested. He worked for several newspapers in Goulburn and Sydney before he bought a newspaper in Gosford. In 1888 he married Mary Alice L'Estrange and immediately sold his newspaper because he wanted to follow her to her home city of Melbourne. In 1895 he moved with his wife to Coolgardie in Western Australia.

Political career

In the first attempt to host the headquarters for the electoral district of Coolgardie he failed in 1897 yet. In the first federal election in 1901, however, he could win it for the Australian Labor Party. He was what Postmaster General in the government to Chris Watson 1904 and Minister of the Interior in the tenure of Andrew Fisher 1908-09. After the dissolution of his constituency Coolgardie Mahon failed in 1913 in the election for a seat in Dampier. After the death of Charles Frazer Mahon won the seat for the District of Kalgoorlie unopposed on 22 December 1913. From December 1914 until the failure of the Labor government in 1916, he was Foreign Minister of Australia.

After another defeat and the loss of his seat in 1917, he could win it back in 1919. After the death of Irish nationalists Terence MacSwiney, who went on a hunger strike because of the British government in Ireland, Mahon attacked the British government. At a public meeting in Melbourne on 7 November 1919, then came to a head. The acting Prime Minister Billy Hughes expelled him from his government and on November 12 he was excluded from the Australian House of Representatives against because of his " disloyal behavior " of the government. He was the only deputy in Australia's history that has ever been expelled from the House of Representatives. ( Since 1987 is no longer possible ). He missed in the elections on December 18, with 48.64 % of the vote in the race with his rival candidates give very little return on his seat in the government.

After Europe and Ireland Travel Mahon died 1931 in Melbourne, leaving behind his wife and their four children.