- published: 29 Jan 2016
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Robert James "Bob" Heffron (10 September 1890 – 27 July 1978) was one of the longest-serving New South Wales state parliamentarians. He was the Australian Labor Party Premier of New South Wales from 28 October 1959, to 30 April 1964.
"Bob" Heffron (as he was widely known) was born in Thames, New Zealand and left school at 15 to work in a gold-treating plant while studying metallurgy at the Thames School of Mines. At 19, he went to California to work and to Yukon look unsuccessfully for gold and he returned to New Zealand in 1912. He joined the New Zealand Socialist Party in 1913 and became a union organiser. He married Jessie Bjornstad in 1917 and they travelled to Melbourne to avoid military service. He moved to Sydney in 1921 as secretary of the New South Wales branch of the Federated Marine Stewards' and Pantrymen's Association of Australasia.
In 1927, Heffron contested Botany unsuccessfully on behalf of Lang Labor against Thomas Mutch, who had split from Jack Lang. He won Botany in 1930 and held it to 1950 and he was then member for Maroubra until 1968. In 1936, he began to organise against Lang, who had him and his followers expelled in August 1936. They formed the Industrial Labor Party, known as the Heffron Labor Party. In 1939, ILP was readmitted to the New South Wales Labor Party, under pressure from the Federal Executive of the party, and Heffron, William McKell and Lang contested the leadership of the reunited party, with McKell winning.
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