William Fraser Dunn was an Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 from 1910 until 1950. He was a member of the ALP

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

.

Early life

Dunn was born in Queanbeyan where his father was a small farm holder. He was educated at the local public school which he left at the age of 15 to assist on his father's farm. Following an injury he joined the New South Wales Department of Education and taught at various schools in NSW regional areas.

Political career

He joined the ALP in 1895 and was the party's successful candidate for the seat of Mudgee

Electoral district of Mudgee

Mudgee was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales first created in 1859, partly replacing Wellington and Bligh and named after and including Mudgee. Following the abolition of Goldfields West in 1880, it elected three members simultaneously,...

 in the 1910 election. He resigned from the Labor Party and parliament in protest at the party's land policy in 1911. This left the party without a majority in the parliament and the policy was rapidly changed, allowing Dunn to win the resulting by-election as the endorsed ALP candidate. He continued as the member for Mudgee until the seat was replaced by the multi-member seat of Wammerawa

Electoral district of Wammerawa

Wammerawa was a former electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the Australian State of New South Wales, created in 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation and named after an alternative name for the Macquarie River. It mainly replaced Mudgee, Castlereagh and Liverpool...

 in 1920. He represented this electorate until the single member seat of Mudgee was recreated in 1927 and, with the exception of the period 1932-1935, he remained the member for Mudgee until his retirement in 1950. In 1915-1918 he was granted leave from parliament to serve as a captain in the First Australian Imperial Force

First Australian Imperial Force

The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...

.

Ministerial career

Dunn was the Minister for Agriculture of New South Wales

New South Wales Department of Primary Industries

The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, a division of the New South Wales Government, is responsibile for the administration and development for agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, state forests, biosecurity, and crown lands in New South Wales...

 in the governments of John Storey

John Storey (politician)

John Storey was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales from 12 April 1920 until his sudden death in Sydney...

, James Dooley

James Dooley (Australian politician)

James Thomas Dooley served twice, briefly, as Premier of New South Wales during the early 1920s.-Early years:...

, Jack Lang

Jack Lang (Australian politician)

John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...

, William McKell

William McKell

Sir William John McKell GCMG , Australian politician, was Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947, and was the 12th Governor-General of Australia. He was also the oldest Governor General of Australia, at 93 when he died....

 and the first ministry of James McGirr

James McGirr

James McGirr was the Labor Premier of New South Wales from 6 February 1947 to 3 April 1952.A Catholic, McGirr was the seventh son of John Patrick McGirr, farmer and Irish immigrant, and Mary McGirr, whose maiden name was O'Sullivan. Born in Parkes, New South Wales, he grew up on a dairy farm near...

. Under his leadership the ministry expanded its activities in organised marketing and co-operative development.

Party Leader

Although Dunn had no factional power base in the Labor Party, his geniality resulted in his advancement within the parliamentary caucus. He was the deputy leader of the party in 1922-23 and was selected by the federal executive of the ALP as a stopgap parliamentary leader

Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales

The leader of the ALP in the New South Wales Parliament is elected from and by the members of the party caucus, comprising all party members in the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. When the Labor party forms a government the leader is the Premier and when the party is in opposition...

 during a factional party schism related to the expulsion of James Dooley from the party. Jack Lang

Jack Lang (Australian politician)

John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...

claimed that Dunn spent much of his time as party leader wandering around parliament house, trying to get Labor party members to attend a caucus meeting.