- Lou Cunningham
Lucien Lawrence "Lou" Cunningham (
4 June 1889 –23 March 1948 ) was anAustralia n farmer and politician. He was born atInverell, New South Wales , to a farmer, Eugene Cunningham, and his wife Mary, nee Edgeworth, both born inIreland . He was educated at Goonoowigall Public School and eventually ran the family farm; he also became involved in theAustralian Workers' Union .Cunningham was president of the local branches of the No Conscription League and the
Australian Labor Party , and, having failed to enter theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1917 via the seat of Gough, he defeated Labor defector William Webster in 1919 to take the seat of Gwydir in theAustralian House of Representatives . Cunningham was known as a devoutCatholic , and was a staunch opponent ofcommunism . He was promoted to the executive of the party, but lost Gwydir toAubrey Abbott of the Country Party in 1925.Cunningham again became a farmer and married Catherine Crosby at Coogee on
3 September 1927 . He attempted to regain Gwydir in 1928 but failed, but the following year regained it, largely as a result ofJames Scullin 's influence as Prime Minister. Cunningham was nominated as Deputy Speaker in 1931, butCharles McGrath refused to resign and the move failed. Unlike many colleagues, Cunningham remained loyal to the Labor Party through its many splits, and (being tall and around 108kg) was nicknamed "the Goonoowigall Giant" and "Australia's biggest cabinet minister". He lost his seat at the Scullin Government's landslide loss in 1931 and, although he attempted to return as a candidate for East Sydney in 1932, he was defeated by aLang Labor candidate.Cunningham was a staunch opponent of Jack Lang and his party, and stood for the Legislative Assembly seat of Coogee after Lang's removal as leader. Surprisingly he won in 1941, partly due to his own political skills and partly due to the invigorated Labor under
William McKell . Cunningham retained the seat until his death on23 March 1948 of acoronary occlusion ; he was survived by his wife and two sons.References
*Australian Dictionary of Biography|last=McMullin |first=Ross |authorlink=|year=1993|id=A130610b.htm|title= Cunningham, Lucien Lawrence (Lou) (1889-1948) |accessdate=2007-08-25
Persondata
NAME = Cunningham, Lucien Lawrence
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Cunningham, Lou
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH =4 June 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH =Inverell, New South Wales
DATE OF DEATH =23 March 1948
PLACE OF DEATH =Coogee, New South Wales
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