Edward William O'Sullivan

Edward William O'Sullivan (17 March 1846 – 25 April 1910) was an Australian journalist and politician.

Early life and journalism

O'Sullivan was born in Launceston, Van Diemen's Land. His father deserted the family when he was a child and he was mainly educated by his mother Mary Ann who was the daughter of Edward Burgoyne, a soldier of the 63rd regiment (born Derry, Ireland c.1794) by his wife Catherine Cruise. He was bright and intelligent, graduated at the desk, and became, when still young, a reporter for that paper. In 1878, he married Agnes Ann Firman and started working a The Argus.

In 1884, he founded a working man's party the Democratic Alliance and its newspaper the Democrat, but both failed. In 1884 O'Sullivan was part of a land reform conference, which included Paddy Crick, Louis Heydon and Adolphus Taylor to "establish a political organisation of the agricultural, mining, and working classes of New South Wales, in order to initiate a more liberal and progressive policy for the colony", a protectionist party that became known as the Land and Industrial Alliance. He stood again in 1885, this time for South Sydney but was again unsuccessful with a margin of 882 votes (6.1%). A week later he was elected for Queanbeyan, with the assistance of the Queanbeyan Age, edited by his friend, John Gale and Louis Heydon, the member for Yass Plains.

In September 1899, O'Sullivan became Secretary for Public Works in the Lyne ministry, and held the same position when John See became Premier until June 1904. During his period of Works administration he spent £126,700 on roads and bridges out of revenue, and £1,341,341 out of loans on roads, harbours and rivers, and buildings. On water conservation works he spent £196,600, and on railways £2,964,400. On tramways he expended over half a million; on metropolitan water works another half-million. Country towns water supplies took £172,000, while a quarter of a million more went for sewerage and stormwater drainage. A further £40,000 odd was devoted to the Hunter water supply. Of his later years, The Sydney Morning Herald said "He did good work, not only in the council, but on the health, finance, and works committees. He spoke seldom, but always to the point, and was regular in his attendance both at council and in committee. But it was not the O'Sullivan of 20, or even 10, years back. He was unobtrusive rather than assertive. He did not bring to the council the fiery enthusiasm of his earlier days. His step had become less firm, and he lacked the strong grip of affairs which had been his".

Death

O'Sullivan died at Mosman of blood poisoning after a protracted illness, and left a widow and five children. During the 1890s he published Esperanza: a Tale of Three Colonies, and in 1906, Under the Southern Cross: Australian Sketches, Stories and Speeches.