Louis Andrew Walsh was an Australian politician and a 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...

 between 1953 and 1956 and again between 1962 and 1965. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party

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

Walsh was born at Yatteyattah near Milton, New South Wales

Milton, New South Wales

Milton is a town in the City of Shoalhaven on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia, not far from Ulladulla. It was founded in the middle of the 19th century...

 and was the son of a dairy farmer. He was educated at Sydney Teachers College

Sydney Teachers College

The Sydney Teachers College was a tertiary education institution that trained school teachers in Sydney, Australia. It existed from 1906 until 1981, when it became a part of the Sydney Institute of Education which in turn joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Sydney in...

 and the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Economics degree in 1923. Walsh was employed as a high school teacher by the New South Wales Department of Education and became an official in the New South Wales Teachers Federation

New South Wales Teachers Federation

The New South Wales Teachers Federation is the registered trade union which covers NSW public school teachers. The New South Wales Teachers Federation represents all teachers in New South Wales public pre-schools, infants, primary and secondary schools and Institutes...

. He was elected an alderman of Randwick City Council

City of Randwick

The City of Randwick is a Local Government Area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. One of Sydney's largest parks, Centennial Park, lies within the city boundary of Randwick. Other major landmarks in Randwick include the world-famous Randwick Racecourse,...

 between 1950 and 1953 and between 1959 and 1962 and was mayor in 1952. In the period he was absent from parliament between 1956 and 1962, Walsh was a teacher at Sydney Technical High School

Sydney Technical High School

Sydney Technical High School is an academically selective, state-funded high school for boys in Bexley, a southern suburb of Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1911 as part of Sydney Technical College, the school was one of the six original New South Wales selective schools...

 and Randwick Boys High School

Randwick Boys High School

Randwick Boys' High School, is a school located in Randwick, New South Wales, Australia, between Rainbow and Avoca Streets. It is a boys high school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training with students from years 7 to 12...

State Parliament

Walsh was the endorsed Labor candidate for the seat of Coogee

Electoral district of Coogee

Coogee is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Bruce Notley-Smith of the Liberal Party.-Members for Coogee:-Election results:...

 at the 1950

New South Wales state election, 1950

The 1950 New South Wales State state election was held on 17 June 1950. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1949 redistribution...

 state election but was defeated by the incumbent Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 member and future Speaker

Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly, New South Wales's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is Shelley Hancock, who was elected on 3 May 2011...

, Kevin Ellis

Kevin Ellis (Australian politician)

Sir Kevin William Collin Ellis KBE was an Australian politician, elected as a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly....

. Walsh defeated Ellis, during a state-wide swing to Labor, at the next election in 1953

New South Wales state election, 1953

The 1953 New South Wales state election was held on 14 February 1953. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1952 redistribution...

. However, he was again defeated by Ellis at the 1956

New South Wales state election, 1956

The 1956 New South Wales state election was held on 3 March 1956. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1952 redistribution...

 election when Labor's vote fell because of the split in the federal party caused by the formation of the DLP

Democratic Labor Party (historical)

The Democratic Labor Party was an Australian political party that existed from 1955 until 1978.-History:The DLP was formed as a result of a split in the Australian Labor Party that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V...

. Walsh was unsuccessful at the 1959

New South Wales state election, 1959

The 1959 New South Wales state election was held on 21 March 1959. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1957 redistribution...

 election but defeated Ellis in 1962

New South Wales state election, 1962

The 1962 New South Wales state election was held on 3 March 1962. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1961 redistribution...

. Ellis regained the seat, yet again, in the general anti-Labor swing that resulted in the defeat of the Renshaw

Jack Renshaw

John Brophy "Jack" Renshaw AC was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of New South Wales from 30 April 1964 to 13 May 1965.-Early life:...

 government in 1965

New South Wales state election, 1965

The 1965 New South Wales state election was held on 1 May 1965. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1961 redistribution...

. Walsh was unsuccessful in his final attempt to win the seat in 1968

New South Wales state election, 1968

The 1968 New South Wales state election was held on 24 February 1968. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1966 redistribution...

. He did not hold party, parliamentary of ministerial office.