20 Facts About Richard Darcey

Richard John Darcey was an Australian politician.

Richard Darcey eventually became a jeweller in Hobart, and rose to become President of the Retail Jewellers' Association.

Richard Darcey held the seat until 1943, when he was defeated, having been demoted to fourth place on the ballot to make way for Tasmanian state minister Nick McKenna.

Richard Darcey was the son of Catherine and Thomas Darcey; his father was a shoemaker.

Richard Darcey received a primary school education and then was apprenticed to a jeweller in Launceston.

Richard Darcey practised as an optician and watchmaker from his shop in Liverpool Street.

Richard Darcey was federal president of the Retail Jewellers' Association, and was a delegate to state opticians' conferences, with Tasmania being the first Australian state to implement compulsory registration of opticians.

Richard Darcey was a financial backer of the Daily Post, which supported the Australian Labor Party, and was an ally of its editor Edmund Dwyer-Gray.

Richard Darcey first stood for parliament at the 1934 federal election, as one of four endorsed ALP candidates in the seat of Denison.

At the 1937 election, Richard Darcey was elected to a six-year Senate term commencing on 1 July 1938.

Richard Darcey was defeated at the 1943 election after being relegated to fourth position on Labor's ticket, behind Nick McKenna.

Richard Darcey was a prominent advocate of reforming Australia's monetary system along social credit lines.

Richard Darcey opposed mainstream economics and the banking industry, attributing the Great Depression to the failure of banks to provide credit.

In parliament, Richard Darcey described himself as a "missionary in the banking field".

Richard Darcey spoke "at great length and often repetitively on social credit, so much so that, as he admitted, he sometimes emptied the chamber".

Richard Darcey married Blanche Kelly in 1905, with whom he had five children.

Richard Darcey was active in Catholic community organisations, serving as president of the Hobart branch of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and being prominent in the Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society.

Richard Darcey was president and a life member of the Tasmanian Amateur Athletic Association.

Richard Darcey died on 26 July 1944 at the Mater Hospital, North Sydney.

Richard Darcey had been ill for a period of three weeks while visiting Sydney on business, suffering from hemiplegia.