View source for Don Day

{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
|name = Don Day
|honorific-suffix =
|image=
|birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1924|02|19}}
|birth_place = [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2010|05|18|1924|02|19}}
|death_place = [[New South Wales]]
|party = [[Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch)|Labor Party]]
|relations =
|spouse = Marie Davis
|children = Jenny, Bill and Suzanne
|residence =
|occupation = Motor vehicle dealer and cattle grazier
|religion =
|signature =
|website =
|footnotes =
}}
'''Donald Day''' (19 February 1924 – 18 May 2010) was an Australian politician and member of the [[New South Wales Legislative Assembly]] representing the electorates of [[Electoral district of Casino|Casino]] (1971–1981) and [[Electoral district of Clarence|Clarence]] (1981–1984) for the [[Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch)|Labor Party]]. Day held a range of Ministerial responsibilities in the government of [[Neville Wran]].
==Early years and background==
Day was born in [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]]. His father, Alfred Day, was an engineer. Referring to his early years, Day was quoted as:<ref>{{cite book |author=Hallam, Jack |authorlink=Jack Hallam (politician) |title=The untold story: Labor in rural NSW |publisher=Allen & Unwin |year=1983 |pages=144 |isbn=0-86861-167-0 }}<!--|accessdate=1 January 2012 --></ref>
<blockquote>I grew up in the metropolitan area of Melbourne during the depression. My father deserted us when we were kids, so we had a fairly rough upbringing; my mother had to bring up three of us without the benefit of any deserted wives' pension. We scrabbled very hard and that sort of builds a fire in your guts. It leaves a mark on you really that never leaves you. The scars are there from charity handouts and all those rather soul-destroying experiences. That's why I'll always be Labor.</blockquote>
He was educated at [[Swinburne University of Technology|Swinburne Technical College]] and trained as a fitter and turner.  In 1941 he joined the Australian Imperial Forces as a private and later transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force to become a [[PBY Catalina|catalina]] pilot where he met and married Marie Davis.<ref name=obit>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/parlment/hanstrans.nsf/V3ByKey/LA20100623 |title=Death of the Honourable Donald Day, a former member of the Legislative Assembly and a former Minister of the Crown |work=Full Day Hansard Transcript: Legislative Assembly |date=23 June 2010 |publisher=Parliament of New South Wales |accessdate=1 January 2012 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071210/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/parlment/hanstrans.nsf/V3ByKey/LA20100623 |archivedate=4 March 2016 }}</ref>
Following his war service Day and his wife settled in her home town of [[Maclean, New South Wales|Maclean]] and established a car and farm equipment dealership. He joined the Labor party at age 28 and served in local government.<ref name=nswp>{{cite NSW Parliament |title=The Hon. Donald DAY (1924–2010) |id=1834 |former=Yes |accessdate=11 May 2019}}</ref>
==Political career==
Day won Labor pre-selection and was subsequently elected as the member for [[Electoral district of Casino|Casino]] at the [[1971 New South Wales state election|1971 state election]]; the first time the seat had been held by Labor since the establishment of single member constituencies in 1927.<ref name=obit/> He retained this seat until it was abolished in a redistribution prior to the 1981 state election. He subsequently contested and won the seat of [[Electoral district of Clarence|Clarence]]. With the election of the Wran government in 1976, Day, one of the few rural based elected members of the Labor Party, became the Minister for Decentralisation and Development and [[Minister for Primary Industries (New South Wales)|Minister for Primary Industries]]. He continued in rural industry portfolios in the Wran government until his retirement prior to the [[1984 New South Wales state election|1984 state election]].<ref name=nswp/>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
&nbsp;
{{S-start}}
{{s-par|au-nsw-la}}
{{s-new|district}}
{{s-ttl |title= [[Electoral district of Casino|Member for Casino]]|years =1971–1981 }}
{{s-non | reason= District abolished }}
{{s-bef|before= [[Matt Singleton]]}}
{{s-ttl |title= [[Electoral district of Clarence|Member for Clarence]]|years =1981–1984 }}
{{s-aft|after= [[Ian Causley]] }}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Milton Morris]] }}
{{s-ttl |title= [[Minister for Decentralisation and Development (New South Wales)|Minister for Decentralisation and Development]]<br/>[[Minister for Primary Industries (New South Wales)|Minister for Primary Industries]]|years= 1976–1978 }}
{{s-aft|after= [[Jack Hallam (politician)|Jack Hallam]] }}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bruce Cowan]]}}
{{s-ttl |title= [[Minister for Agriculture (New South Wales)|Minister for Agriculture]]| years =1978–1980 }}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jack Hallam (politician)|Jack Hallam]] }}
{{s-bef|before=[[Jack Hallam (politician)|Jack Hallam]] |as=Minister for Decentralisation }}
{{s-ttl |title= [[Minister for Industrial Development and Decentralisation (New South Wales)|Minister for Industrial Development and Decentralisation]] | years = 1980–1984 }}
{{s-aft|after= [[George Paciullo]]|as=Minister for Industry and Decentralisation}}
{{s-bef|before= [[Neville Wran]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for Mineral Resources (New South Wales)|Minister for Mineral Resources]]|years=1984}}
{{s-aft|after= [[Ken Gabb]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Don}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales]]