Fitzgerald, John Daniel, 1862 – 1922

John Daniel Fitzgerald (1862-1922), author, journalist, barrister and parliamentarian, was born at Shellharbour, NSW, son of John Fitzgerald and his wife Mary Ann. He was educated locally and at Fort Street and St. Mary's Cathedral schools, Sydney.

He was apprenticed as a compositor at Bathurst and by 1885 was working on the Evening News in Sydney and was active in trade unionism and radical politics. He was president of the Typographical Association and delegate to the Trades and Labor Council. He was a member of the Socialist League and a foundation member of the Womanhood Suffrage League.

Fitzgerald was involved in the maritime strike of 1890 and travelled to England at his own expense on behalf of the Labor Defence Council to publicise the dispute. He returned to Sydney and was involved in the founding of the Labor Electoral League. Fitzgerald studied law and was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1900.

Fitzgerald was elected the Labor Party member of the NSW Legislative Assembly for the seat of West Sydney (1891-1894). He was expelled from the Labor Party in 1893 but rejoined in 1909. He was an alderman of the Sydney Municipal Council (1900-1904). Fitzgerald was appointed to the NSW Legislative Council (1915-1922). In 1916 he was again expelled from the Labor Party due to his support for conscription. Fitzgerald was vice-president of the Executive Council (1915-1919), Minister for Public Health (1916-1919), Minister for Local Government (1916-1920), Solicitor-General and Minister of Justice (1919-1920) and Assistant Minister of Public Instruction (1916).

Fitzgerald was involved in numerous organisations. He was awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French Government in 1919. He was a trustee of the Public Library of NSW (1912-1922) and the Art Gallery of NSW. Fitzgerald published extensively, including works on urban development, studies in Australian crime, novels, circus stories and journal articles. His brothers Daniel and Thomas owned Fitzgerald Brothers Circus (ca.1894-1907). [ref:ADB 8]