Ray Septimus Maher

Raphael Septimus "Ray" Maher (1 April 1911 – 22 September 1966) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1953 until 1965 and a member of the Labor Party (ALP). Maher was the Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1959 and 1965.

Early life Maher was born in Grenfell, New South Wales. He was the son of a union organizer and was educated at De La Salle College Ashfield and the University of Sydney. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1944 but gave up plans to study law to become a concrete contractor. He joined the Labor Party in 1927 and was a member of the Australian Workers' Union.