15 Facts About Frank Walsh

Francis Henry Walsh was the 34th Premier of South Australia from 10 March 1965 to 1 June 1967, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party.

One of eight children, Frank Walsh was born into an Irish Catholic family in O'Halloran Hill, South Australia.

Frank Walsh would serve as President of the South Australian Stonemason's Society and the national stonemason body and as a member of the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia, while still finding the time to continue working as a stonemason and marry on 29 December 1925.

At the 1938 state election, Frank Walsh first stood for Labor in the safe conservative electorate of Mitcham and while losing to the Liberal and Country League member, impressed senior ALP figures sufficiently to gain endorsement for the safe Labor seat of Goodwood.

Frank Walsh was elected as his deputy when it became clear no one else wanted the job.

Frank Walsh followed O'Halloran's lead of preferring co-operation with the LCL to criticizing them and maintained friendly relations with Playford, who treated him in a somewhat avuncular manner.

However, Frank Walsh made a concerted effort to end the LCL's three-decade grip on power.

Frank Walsh fought his first election as state Labor leader in 1962.

Frank Walsh lobbied the Governor, Sir Edric Bastyan, to appoint him Premier instead, arguing that he had won a clear majority of the popular vote.

Frank Walsh served as his own Treasurer and Minister for Immigration.

Frank Walsh found himself the head of an inexperienced government, as no current ALP parliamentarian had previously served as a minister.

Frank Walsh was never comfortable dealing with the media, particularly television, and his ascension as Premier only exacerbated these problems.

Frank Walsh regularly had journalists, Hansard reporters, and political ally and foe alike bewildered by his statements.

Things came to a head in January 1967, when federal Labor power-broker Clyde Cameron publicly thanked Frank Walsh for making the noble decision to retire to make way for a younger person.

Frank Walsh died less than two months after he left parliament at the 1968 election, and was given a state funeral.