Jack Devlin

John Joseph Devlin (6 January 1900 – 26 May 1957) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as a Senator for Victoria from 1946 to 1957.

Early life Devlin was born on 6 January 1900 in Violet Town, Victoria. He was the son of Bidelia (née Fitzgerald) and John Devlin. His father was a farmer and "pioneer of the Benalla district".

Devlin attended the state schools at Tamleugh and Tamleugh North. After leaving school he farmed at Tamleugh and was a member of the Victorian Wheat and Woolgrowers' Association. He was active in the local district tennis and rifle associations and was a life governor of the district hospital at Wangaratta.

Devlin made his first and only speech to the Senate on 7 November 1946, where he "advocated a range of rural proposals, including reafforestation, the decentralization of industry, the establishment of additional water supply schemes, the provision of good roads, particularly cross-country roads, and improved post and telephone services". Devlin's parliamentary contributions were limited. He served on only one Senate committee, from 1946 to 1949. In 1952 he collapsed at his home in Tamleugh and was hospitalised, which was attributed to a stomach ailment. In 1956 Devlin suffered a major stroke which left him partially paralysed.

During the Australian Labor Party split of 1955, Devlin remained loyal to the ALP although his Irish Catholic background led some to assume that he would affiliate with the breakaway Anti-Communist Labor Party. He successfully appealed his suspension after pledging his loyal to the state executive and stating that any association with the breakaway groups had been inadvertent.