Sir William McMahon

Plaque Unveiling Gallery

Early Life

Political Career

Family Life

Publications

Honours and Awards

Legacy

Sources

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Sir William (Billy) McMahon, CCMG CH, 1908-1988

Sir William McMahon, solicitor and long serving Liberal Party politician, was Prime Minister of Australia from 1971-1972.

A plaque commemorating Sir William McMahon was unveiled on 14 April 2026 outside 18 Drumalbyn Road, Bellevue Hill adjacent to the site of the former McMahon family home.

Image: Ivor Hele (1912-1993), The Rt Hon William McMahon CH, 1973, Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT.

Plaque location

18 Drumalbyn Road, Bellevue Hill

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Plaque Unveiling Gallery 

Early Life

William (Billy) McMahon was born on 23 February 1908 into a wealthy family, at Redfern, Sydney. His parents, William Daniel McMahon, a solicitor, and Mary Ellen Amelia née Walder, had four children, James, b. 1905, William, b. 1908, Samuel, b. 1910 and Agnes, b. 1911.[1] William Daniel inherited his wealth from his father, James McMahon, who had amassed a fortune from the successful carrier business he established in Redfern.[2]

At the time of his mother’s death on 9 April 1917 William and his family were living at Mascotte in Eastern Avenue, Kensington.[3] The funeral was held on the 10 April and Mary was buried at Waverley Cemetery. After her death William was cared for by various members of his mother’s family, in particular his uncle, Sir Samuel Robert Walder, who lived at Deauville, 16 Longworth Avenue, Point Piper. Walder was managing director of the family’s canvas goods company, S. Walder Pty. Ltd., and Lord Mayor of Sydney in 1932 and Member of the N.S.W. Legislative Council from 1932 to 1943.

As a boy William attended Abbotsholme College, a private boarding school for boys on the Pacific Highway at Greengate Road, Killara. The school was set on twelve acres and one of its attractions was its ‘high health records’ due to its operating as an ‘open-air school’ where ‘pupils eat, work and sleep practically in the open air.[4]

 

 

William spent his last years of secondary schooling at Sydney Grammar School completing his studies in 1926. He enjoyed sports, playing rugby and as a member of the school’s first four rowing team he competed in the Great Public Schools rowing championships on Parramatta River in April 1926.[5] During his final year William’s father died on 18 October aged 49 and was buried in the family vault at Rookwood Cemetery.

 

 

In 1927 after he matriculated, William enrolled at the University of Sydney to study law, boarding at St Paul’s College.[6] He took up boxing and participated in social events, enjoying the theatre, ballet, music and art, as well as developing an interest in horse racing. In 1933 McMahon graduated with a Bachelor of Laws.[7] His early hopes for a career as a barrister were dashed due to a problem with his hearing. He worked instead as a solicitor with one of the leading law firms of the day Allen, Allen & Hemsley, becoming a junior partner and acting for the Commonwealth Bank and the Bank of N.S.W.

The outbreak of World War II interrupted William’s legal career and at the age of 32 he enlisted at Paddington on 14 October 1940. He served with Headquarters Command 2 Division Australian Army Service Corps, with the Citizen Military Forces (C.M.F.) from 27 October 1940 to 2 July 1942 before transferring to the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.). William was based in Australia (being medically unfit to serve overseas) and employed on staff duties as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General (Movements). He was promoted to captain in 1942 and then major in 1943. He was discharged on 10 October 1945 and travelled to Europe and America for sixteen months, before returning to Australia to pursue his interest in economics.

McMahon obtained his Bachelor of Economics graduating with distinction from the University of Sydney in 1949. He was awarded the Frank Albert Prize for Proficiency at Fourth Year Examinations and the Public Service Association of N.S.W. John S. D’Arcy Memorial Prize for Public Administration II.[8]

 

  

 

Political Career

His early interests in conservative politics and economics prompted McMahon to turn to a career in politics. At the federal election held on 10 December 1949 he ran as a Liberal candidate for the newly created Sydney seat of Lowe. He was elected to the House of Representatives, one of the so-called ‘Forty-niners’ and part of the new Menzies Liberal Government that ousted the long-running Labor Government of Ben Chifley. McMahon served the Party in government continuously until his resignation in 1982 – a period of just over 32 years.

 

Portrait of Sir William McMahon, 18 June 1950, six months after his election as the Member for Lowe. National Library of Australia PIC Box PS 14608 #PIC/7122-.

 

McMahon made his first speech in the House on 2 March 1950. He was well connected from his years as a solicitor and family background in conservative politics, and he advanced quickly in the party. On 17 July 1951 he was promoted to the Ministry, as Minister for the Navy and Minister for Air. From this time, he held various ministries and by 1958 he had served as Minister for Social Services, Primary Industry and Labour and National Service.[9]

McMahon brought enthusiasm, energy and drive to all his portfolios and was known for his mastering of the various briefs he held. He was admired for his persistence, work ethic, ‘sound administration, order and stability'.[10] However, he was never a popular member of his party with many unhappy with his ambition, his cultivation of the press and his dealings behind the scenes. 

After Prime Minister Robert Menzies’ retirement on 20 January 1966, McMahon, recently married to Sonia Hopkins and returning early from his honeymoon, contested and was appointed Deputy Leader of the Party and Treasurer on 26 January 1966. Sonia McMahon was keenly interested in politics and she would prove to be a loyal supporter of her husband and his career. Described in the press as ‘elegant and always poised when making public appearances’ and ‘adept at public functions’, her style, composure and ability to make people feel at ease was a useful social, political and diplomatic asset for William.[11] She accompanied him on most of his overseas travels and made international headlines when she wore a daringly cut dress to a State Dinner hosted by President Richard Nixon at the White House in 1971.

 

 

As Treasurer, McMahon was the first incumbent to hold a university degree in economics and it is seen as one of his most successful portfolios. On the eve of his first budget he said of all his positions, ‘I like it best because I feel I have trained myself for this kind of portfolio, and because I speak the lingo – and because I have considerable university and practical experience in this field'.[12] His four budgets are noted for having increased spending on defence, drought assistance and pension benefits while providing for programs for the health, education and housing for Aboriginal people, and school libraries.[13] McMahon was firmly in support of free trade which pitted him against some of his colleagues who were in favour of protectionism, in particular it caused lasting enmity between McMahon and John McEwan, Leader of the Country Party (renamed the National Party).

McMahon served as Treasurer until after the 1969 Federal election when he unsuccessfully contested the leadership of Prime Minister John Gorton. Gorton then appointed McMahon as the Minister for External Affairs (which McMahon renamed Foreign Affairs).

In March 1971 John Gorton failed to win a vote of confidence in the party room and William McMahon was elected as the new leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister of Australia on 10 March 1971. As Prime Minister, McMahon established the Department of the Environment, Aborigines and the Arts (and was the first to have a Minister for Indigenous Affairs), he provided Commonwealth funding for child-care and initiated the Henderson Commission of Inquiry into Poverty. During this time Australia gained full membership of the international body the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (O.E.C.D) and continued with its troop withdrawal from Vietnam.

 

 

 

Sonia McMahon, photographed at the Lodge, 1971. National Archives of Australia 1200 L96503 8296503 8295242.

 

Throughout his Prime Ministership McMahon was faced with the difficult task of uniting a fractured party with ongoing destabilisation, and at the same time restoring the public’s trust in the government. Although he made some headway in regaining the public’s confidence, Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War was increasingly unpopular and economic conditions were worsening. By the time of the 1972 Federal election McMahon was unable to stem the rising popularity of the Labor Party, and Gough Whitlam’s ‘sound vision of universal health schemes, renovating the cities and sweeping social welfare reform’ saw the McMahon government defeated at the election held on 2 December 1972.[14]

 

Sonia and William McMahon campaigning in Springvale Victoria, December 1972. National Archives of Australia A6135, K512 72 43.

 

At the election McMahon held his seat of Lowe but he resigned his position as leader of the Liberal Party. He remained in the government, sitting on the backbench first in opposition and then from 1975 in the Fraser Coalition Government. During this time, he was often critical of the Fraser Government’s economic policies and wrote a number of articles for newspapers.

On 4 January 1982 Sir William retired from politics and at the ensuing by-election the Liberal Party lost his long-held seat of Lowe to the Labor Party.

During McMahon’s political career he was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1966, a Companion of Honour in 1972 and he was knighted as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1977.

 

Family Life

William McMahon met Sonia Hopkins at a charity function at The Rocks, Sydney, in April 1965. Sonia Rachel Hopkins was born on 1 August 1932 to William Edward Hopkins, textile importer and Rachel May Lilla Hopkins (née Matchett) of Strathfield, daughter of wealthy pastoralist William Geroge Matchett. Sonia’s family were prominent in Sydney society and she grew up in Strathfield, living at the Matchett family house Borambil at 86 Redmyre Road until the family moved to 26 Powell Street, Killara.[15] Sonia attended school at MLC Burwood and after graduating in 1949 she trained as an occupational therapist. She soon began appearing in the social pages and she joined the Killara Young Liberals. She held various jobs and in 1963 she travelled to New York where she where she worked at the Australian news and information bureau and later as a film production assistant.

Eight months after their first meeting William and Sonia were married at St Mark’s Anglican Church, Darling Point, on 11 December 1965. The reception was held at the Royal Sydney Golf Club at Rose Bay. The couple went on to have two daughters, Melinda Rachel (b. 1966) and Deborah (b. 1972), and a son, Julian Dana William (b. 1968).

For the first few years of their marriage the McMahons lived in an apartment overlooking Sydney Harbour at Point Piper. During parliamentary sitting times William and Sonia stayed at their unit at Forrest, Canberra. In 1968 Sonia McMahon purchased the house Koorumbeen at 18 Drumalbyn Road, Bellevue Hill where the McMahon family would live until Sir William’s death in 1988. The house was built in c. 1921 for Arthur Vickery on a large parcel of land running between Drumalbyn Road and Carrington Avenue, which was later resubdivided into three smaller allotments with No. 18 fronting Drumalbyn Road.[16]

 

 

During Sir William’s period as Prime Minister the family lived at The Lodge, Canberra. Some years after Sir William’s death Lady McMahon purchased a house at 28 Victoria Road, moving there from the Drumalbyn Road family home in the late 1990s.

Sir William was a freemason and throughout his life he continued to enjoy the arts and sports, taking up golf, squash and swimming. After his retirement he travelled, worked as a consultant for the Bank of America and wrote his memoirs. Lady McMahon continued her fundraising work, serving on several boards and helping to raise money for many charities and organisations.

 

The McMahon family photographed at St Mark's Darling Point with other local worshippers. L to R: Mr Sandy Street, Mr Ken Street, Rev. Cannon James Whild, Sir Lawrence Street, Lady Street, Lady McMahon, Sir William McMahon, Mr W.B. McCullagh, Rector's Warden. Front: Debbie, Melinda and Julian McMahon. Photo: Allan West. Woollahra Local History Collection PF004680.

 

Sonia McMahon died from cancer at St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, on 2 April 2010 aged 77. Her funeral service was held at St Mark’s Church, Darling Point. On her death there were many tributes from the charities and organisations that she had helped such as the Centenary Foundation, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation and the Brain Foundation.

 

Publications

Sir William wrote books and papers including Tapping new sources of labour presented at theConference on Labour Shortages, Adelaide in 1965 and The Pacific basin inter-dependence, presented at the 1966 Far East-America Council of Commerce and Industry in New York.

 

Honours and Awards

Appointed a Member of Her Majesty's Privy Council from 1966.

Australian Father of the Year in 1971.

Appointed a Companion of Honour (CH), a British award given to citizens of the Commonwealth for outstanding achievement, on 1 January 1972.[17]

Awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) on 12 June 1977.[18]

 

Legacy

William McMahon died on 31 March 1988 at St Luke’s Hospital, Potts Points and was cremated at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium. A State Memorial Service was held at St. Andrew’s Cathedral on 8 April 1988. At his memorial Sir Marcus Loane described Sir William as ‘friendly, lively in spirit, eager to talk, ready to defend himself in argument'.[19]

The then Prime Minister Bob Hawke remembered McMahon as a ‘generous opponent’ who ‘maintained an enormous enthusiasm for, and interest in, public affairs after his retirement from the Parliament and was constructive in his discussions on economics and political matters’.[20]

Described in his obituary as ‘essentially competent, technically able and doggedly persistent’, Sir William was a loyal and long-serving member of the Liberal Party and committed and diligent in his ministerial positions.[21]

Sources

Julian Leeser, 'McMahon, Sir William (Billy) 1908–1988', Australian Dictionary of Biography

Museum of Australian Democracy

NSW Births Deaths and Marriages

NSW Land Registry Services, Historic Land Records Viewer

National Archives of Australia

National Library of Australia

Newsbank

Sekuless, Peter, ‘Sir William McMahon 10 March 1971- 5 December 1972’, in Michelle Grattan (ed.), Australian Prime Ministers, New Holland, Sydney, 2000

The Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia

Trove

Wikipeadia

Woollahra Libraries Digital Archive