Date of Birth: 06/06/1878
Place of Birth: Botobolar, near Mudgee, New South Wales , Australia
Date of Death: 18/05/1958
Place of Death: Bellevue Hill, New South Wales, Australia
Parliamentary Service
| Member of the NSW Legislative Council |
21 Dec 1925 |
22 Apr 1934 |
8 years 4 months 2 days |
Life Appointment under the Constitution Act. Date of Writ of Summons 21 December 1925. |
| Speaker of the Legislative Assembly |
13 Dec 1921 |
20 Dec 1921 |
8 days |
|
| Member for Botany |
20 Mar 1920 |
17 Feb 1922 |
1 year 10 months 29 days |
|
| Member for Alexandria |
24 Mar 1917 |
18 Feb 1920 |
2 years 10 months 26 days |
|
| Church of England Trust Property Bill Committee No. 8 |
30 Nov 1916 |
21 Dec 1916 |
22 days |
|
| Library Committee No. 5 |
28 Jul 1916 |
21 Dec 1916 |
4 months 24 days |
|
| Library Committee No. 6 |
02 Jul 1915 |
13 Apr 1916 |
9 months 12 days |
|
| Profession of Public Accountants Committee No. 7 |
08 Dec 1914 |
23 Feb 1915 |
2 months 16 days |
|
| Governor's Opening Speech Committee No. 1 |
03 Mar 1914 |
03 Mar 1914 |
1 day |
|
| Member for Alexandria |
06 Dec 1913 |
21 Feb 1917 |
3 years 2 months 16 days |
|
| The Governor’s Opening Speech Committee No.1 |
23 Jul 1912 |
23 Jul 1912 |
1 day |
|
| The Governor’s Opening Speech Committee No.1 |
23 Jul 1912 |
23 Jul 1912 |
1 day |
|
| Member for Alexandria |
18 May 1912 |
06 Nov 1913 |
1 year 5 months 20 days |
|
| Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly |
18 May 1912 |
17 Feb 1922 |
9 years 9 months |
|
Political Party Activity
Australian Labor Party (ALP). Joined in c.1900, President of Redfern Leagues Club, secretary of parliamentary party from 1912 until 1915
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Saddler and leather goods manufacturer. Childhood spent on selection at Botobolar until 1882, then at Menah where father worked for G.H Cox; moved to Auburn in 1890; educated at country and Auburn public schools; left school at thirteen to assist as a drayman; worked in hotel before becoming apprenticed to the saddlery trade in Mudgee in 1893; worked in Sydney for a saddlery firm which failed; started own leather goods business in 1908, later became Simon Hickey Industries Limited; involved after 1914 war in an unsuccessful attempt to establish a silk spinning industry; in youth became a member of Australian Natives Association, publisher of the paper; member of cremation society in 1907; contributor to Bulletin, published autobiography in 1951.
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Son of Patrick Hickey, agricultural labourer, from United States of America and Ireland, selector, and Mary Swift. Married Hilda Ellen Dacey in c.1909 and had issue, 1 daughter and 2 sons. Son in law of J.R Dacey, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Botany. Roman Catholic. Funeral at Botany cemetery from St Anne's Roman Catholic shrine, Bondi.
Additional Information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9
Personal papers in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales:
Simon Hickey - correspondence received from Henry Lawson and Thomas Davies
Mutch, 1914 - 1922 (MLMSS 6789); photographs in the PICMAN Database.
Text from the book: 'The Presiding Officers of the Parliament of New South
Wales', Sydney, 1995
Simon Hickey was born on 6 June 1878 at Mudgee in New South Wales. He joined
the Labor Party at about the turn of the century, becoming president of the
party's South Sydney branch in 1906. He married Hilda Darcey in 1911 and they
had two sons and one daughter. He entered the Legislative Assembly in May 1912,
succeeding his late father-in-law, J.R. Darcey as the Member for Alexandria. He
held that seat until 1920 when he became the Member for Botany.
Between 1920 and 1921 he was Chairman of the Public Works Committee and in
December 1921 he held the office of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for a
record eight days. His term as Speaker was cut short by the election crisis
involving the Dooley and Fuller governments. Subsequently, he took a seat in
the Legislative Council from 1925 until 1934 when the Council was
reconstituted. Hickey was considered to possess an independent streak with a
tendency for forthright and candid opinions. His individualism was the cause of
controversy with in his own party as he voted across party lines on several
occasions. He died on 18 May 1958 at Bellevue Hill in Sydney.
