Henry James (Harry) Hannah (1873–1944)
This article was published:
- in the Biographical Register of the Australian Labour Movement, 1788-1975
- online in 2022
This entry is from People Australia
Henry James (Harry) Hannah (1873-1944) builders’ labourer, trade union leader
Birth: 1873 in Whroo, Victoria, to Scottish-born parents James Smith Hannah, miner, and Elizabeth, née Irving. Marriage: 1894 to Mary Elizabeth Humphreys. They had five sons and four daughters. Death: 8 October 1944 at Carrum, Victoria.
- Entered the building industry in Melbourne in 1893.
- To Western Australia with his brother Martin in the 1890s, and was active in the 1897 building trade dispute.
- Returned to Melbourne in 1899. Secretary of the Builders' Labourers’ Union from December 1909 to September 1910, when he became founding secretary of the Australian Builders Labourers’ Federation.
- In 1911 he brought navvies and labourers’ assistants into the one union. Retired from union office in November 1912, succeeded by B. A. Mulvogue.
- Worked as an assessor on behalf of builders’ labourers until about 1919.
Sources
Humphrey McQueen, We built this country: builders’ labourers and their unions, 1787 to the future (Port Adelaide, 2011), pp 83. 141-2.
Original Publication
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Hannah, Martin (brother)
- Mulvogue, Bernard Andrew (colleague)
Citation details
Chris Cunneen, 'Hannah, Henry James (Harry) (1873–1944)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://labouraustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/hannah-henry-james-harry-32729/text40687, accessed 1 July 2025.
Harry Hannah, 1911
Labor Call (Melbourne), 1 June 1911, p 3
Life Summary [details]
Birth
1873
Whroo,
Victoria,
Australia
Death
8 October,
1944
(aged ~ 71)
Carrum, Melbourne,
Victoria,
Australia
Cultural Heritage
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.