Bill Sheahan (politician)

William Francis Sheahan QC (3 September 1895 – 27 December 1975) also known as Bill Sheahan or Billy Sheahan, was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.

The Honourable Bill Sheahan QC
37th Attorney General of New South Wales
In office 23 February 1953 – 15 March 1956
Premier	Joseph Cahill
Preceded by	Clarrie Martin
Succeeded by	Reg Downing
Personal details
Born	(1895-09-03)3 September 1895 Tumut, Colony of New South Wales
Died	27 December 1975(1975-12-27) (aged 80) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch)
Spouse	Ellen Imelda Byrne (m.1932)
Alma mater	University of Sydney (LL.B. 1930)
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Australian Army
Years of service	1916–1919
Rank	Private
Unit	17th Battalion 5th Infantry Brigade Headquarters
Battles/wars	First World War

Early life

Born in Tumut, New South Wales, the son of the publicans of the hotel at Jugiong, Sheahan attended schools in Tumut and St Patrick's College, Goulburn.^[1]

Sheahan gained work as a clerk in the Crown Law Department in 1914 before enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force in 1916, serving in France and Flanders. Following World War I, Sheahan returned to the Crown Law Department, working there until 1930, when he received a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Sydney and established a large criminal law practice. Called to the bar in 1930, Sheahan was made a Queen's Counsel in 1953.

Political career

Elected as the Labor Party member for the New South Wales Electoral district of Yass in 1941, Sheahan served in parliament until 1973 (from 1950 as the member for Burrinjuck), holding the portfolios of Attorney-General of New South Wales, Minister for Transport and Minister for Health between 1950 and 1965. His son Terry Sheahan succeeded him as Member for Burrinjuck.^[1]

Later life and legacy

Sheahan died in Sydney and was buried at Jugiong Cemetery.^[1][2]

In 1977, the 1,143 metres (3,750 ft) long "Sheahan Bridge", replaced the Prince Alfred Bridge near Gundagai as the Hume Highway crossing of the Murrumbidgee River.^[3] This bridge was duplicated in 2010.^[4]