Bryan Wyndham Westwood (1930-2000), Justin Hilary O'Byrne (detail), 1976, Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collection. View full image
President, 9 July 1974 to 11 November 1975
Australian Labor Party
Justin O’Byrne (1906-1993) was President of the Senate during the 1975 constitutional crisis. Born and educated in Launceston, Tasmania, he left school at 15 to work in a textile factory and then at a chemistry laboratory. When the company went bankrupt in 1930, O’Byrne walked in stages from Melbourne to Cunnamulla in south-west Queensland, finding work along the way in shearing, bullock-driving and fencing, before becoming a station overseer and bookkeeper. Drawn to socialism, he read widely in economics and political science.1
Enlisting in the RAAF in 1940, O’Byrne trained as a fighter pilot and was captured by the Germans when he was shot down over occupied France in 1941. Sent to the notorious Stalag Luft III camp in Silesia, he participated in several celebrated escape attempts.2 Despite the atrocious conditions in the camp, he continued his studies and led seminars in politics, economics and languages.3
After convalescing in England at the end of the war, O’Byrne returned to Tasmania and worked briefly in the Department for Post-War Construction. Entering the Senate in 1947 representing the Labor Party for Tasmania, O’Byrne was active in the chamber, demonstrating a strong commitment to social justice. He criticised moves to ban the Communist Party, campaigned against the Vietnam War and opposed the flooding of Lake Pedder and the damming of the Franklin River. Appointed Opposition Whip (1962-72) and then Government Whip (1972-74), he also served on a wide range of parliamentary committees.4
Elected President in 1974, O’Byrne took the chair promising to be impartial and a ‘great equaliser’ and as President tried to ensure that senators conducted debate respectfully.5 He presided over the historic joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives in August 1974, following the double dissolution in April that year, and the subsequent turbulent period that culminated in the Governor-General’s dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam on 11 November 1975.6 When the Governor-General subsequently appointed the Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Fraser, as caretaker Prime Minister, none of the senators, including O’Byrne, was informed. O’Byrne was said to have been ‘shattered by these events’.7
O’Byrne lost the presidency in 1976 following the change of government. He retired five years later after nearly 34 years in Parliament.8 Senator Robert Ray later reflected:
The fact that there was not one dissent from his rulings, nor any vote of no confidence, is a testament to his performance and the high regard in which he was held by those on both sides of the chamber.9
O’Byrne remained involved in his local community, serving as a Justice of the Peace, and was appointed an AO in 1984.10 He died in Sydney in 1993 and was survived by his wife Anne and their three children.11
Bryan Wyndham Westwood
Born in Lima, Peru, portraitist and printmaker Bryan Westwood (1930-2000) began painting professionally during his mid-30s after a varied career in economics, advertising and film. He is known for his photorealistic style with emphasis on composition, symmetry and line. Beyond portraiture, Westwood painted landscapes, interiors, still-life and figurative works. Based in the greater Sydney region for most of his career, he also spent extended periods working in Italy, France, and the USA. In 1990, Westwood was appointed as the official artist for the 75th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing. He travelled with the veterans, and the resulting artworks were exhibited at the Australian War Memorial. Awarded the Archibald Prize for his mannerly portrayals of artist, art critic and writer, Elwyn (Jack) Lynn in 1989, and Prime Minister Paul Keating in 1992, he painted notable figures across such diverse fields as the arts, sport, business, and government. Westwood’s works are held in public and private collections throughout Australia and internationally.
12
Justin Hilary O’Byrne
by Bryan Wyndham Westwood
1976
90.5 x 90.9 cm
Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collection
References
1. Unless otherwise noted, information is sourced from RP Davis, ‘O’Byrne, Justin Hilary (1912–1993)’, The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate Online Edition, Department of the Senate, Parliament of Australia, published first in hardcopy, 2010, accessed 7 June 2021; R Ray, ‘Condolences: Hon. Justin Hilary O’Byrne AO’, Senate, Debates, 16 November 1993, pp. 2918–19.
2. J Dainer, ‘A man who will not be forgotten’, The Canberra Times, 22 November 1993, p. 10, accessed 7 June 2021; Ray, op. cit.
3. Davis, op. cit.
4. Ibid.
5. J O’Byrne, ‘Election of the President’, Senate, Debates, 9 July 1974, pp. 5–6; G Davidson, ‘ALP Nominee gets Senate presidency’, The Canberra Times, 10 July 1974, p. 1, accessed 4 August 2021; Davis, op. cit.
6. Ray, op. cit.
7. Davis, op. cit.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. R Boswell, ‘Condolences: Hon. Justin Hilary O’Byrne AO’, Senate, Debates, 16 November 1993, pp. 2920–21.
11. Davis, op. cit.
12. ‘Westwood, Bryan Wyndham’, A McCulloch, S McCulloch and E McCulloch Childs, eds, The New McCulloch’s Encyclopedia of Australian Art, Aus Art Editions in association with The Miegunyah Press, 2006, p. 1017; ‘Bryan Westwood 1930–2000’, National Portrait Gallery; ‘Bryan Westwood’, Robin Gibson Gallery; E Taylor, ‘Ancestors, guardians, guides: Bryan Westwood’s Anzac portraits’, Wartime: official magazine of the Australian War Memorial, 1988, no. 8, pp. 25–27. Websites accessed 25 June 2021.