Bill Riordan
William James Frederick Riordan CBE was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party and served in the Australian [House of Representatives|House of Representatives] from 1936 to 1966, representing the Division of Kennedy in Queensland. He was Minister for the Navy in the Chifley government from 1946 to 1949.
Early life
Riordan was born in Chillagoe, Queensland, son of Jim Riordan and nephew of Darby Riordan and Ernest Riordan. He was educated at state schools at Chillagoe, Mareeba and Gordonvale and at Brisbane Grammar School. He worked in the Queensland Department of Justice and then became secretary to his father when he was appointed to the Industrial Court of Queensland in 1933.Political career
On the death of his uncle Darby Riordan in 1936 he won the subsequent Kennedy by-election|by-election] for the Australian Labor Party and held the seat until his retirement before the 1966 election. He married Kathleen Amelda Garvey in December 1942—they had no children. From 1943 to 1946 he served as chairman of committees in the House of Representatives.Riordan was appointed Minister for the Navy in the Chifley ministry from November 1946 to the defeat of the government at the 1949 election. Kennedy was a very large electorate, which meant Riordan had to travel constantly to meet his constituents, particularly workers in the sugar, mining and meat processing industries, in order to be re-elected. After his retirement his seat was won by the Country Party and has been held by Labor for only one parliamentary term since.