Des Corcoran

James Desmond Corcoran AO (8 November 1928 – 3 January 2004) was an Australian politician who served as the 37th premier of South Australia between February and September 1979, following the resignation of Don Dunstan. During his brief premiership Corcoran also served as state treasurer. Born at Millicent in the southeast of the state, he served in the Australian Army in the Korean War and Malayan Emergency, reaching the rank of captain, and being twice mentioned in despatches. Following his discharge in 1961, Corcoran was elected to the House of Assembly, succeeding his father Jim Corcoran – who retired at the 1962 election – as the member for the electoral district of Millicent representing the Australian Labor Party.

The Honourable Des Corcoran AO
Corcoran in 1979
Premier of South Australia
In office 15 February 1979 – 18 September 1979
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	Sir Keith Seaman
Deputy	Hugh Hudson
Preceded by	Don Dunstan
Succeeded by	David Tonkin
Leader of the Opposition in South Australia
In office 18 September 1979 – 2 October 1979
Preceded by	David Tonkin
Succeeded by	John Bannon
Leader of the South Australian Labor Party
In office 15 March 1979 – 2 October 1979 Acting leader: 15 February – 15 March 1979
Preceded by	Don Dunstan
Succeeded by	John Bannon
Deputy Premier of South Australia
In office 2 July 1970 – 15 March 1979
Premier	Don Dunstan
Preceded by	Office re-established
Succeeded by	Hugh Hudson
In office 26 March 1968 – 16 April 1968
Premier	Don Dunstan
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Deputy Leader of the South Australian Labor Party
In office 1 June 1967 – 15 February 1979
Deputy	Hugh Hudson
Leader	Don Dunstan
Preceded by	Cyril Hutchens
Succeeded by	Hugh Hudson
Treasurer of South Australia
In office 15 February 1979 – 18 September 1979
Premier	Himself
Preceded by	Don Dunstan
Succeeded by	David Tonkin
Member of the South Australian Parliament for Hartley
In office 17 September 1977 – 6 November 1982
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	Terry Groom
Member of the South Australian Parliament for Coles
In office 12 July 1975 – 17 September 1977
Preceded by	Len King
Succeeded by	Jennifer Cashmore
Member of the South Australian Parliament for Millicent
In office 3 March 1962 – 12 July 1975
Preceded by	Jim Corcoran
Succeeded by	Murray Vandepeer
Personal details
Born	James Desmond Corcoran (1928-11-08)8 November 1928 Millicent, South Australia, Australia
Died	3 January 2004(2004-01-03) (aged 75) Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Political party	Labor (SA)
Spouse	Carmel Campbell ​ (m. 1957)​
Children	8
Parent	Jim Corcoran (father)
Awards	Officer of the Order of Australia (1982)
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Service	Army
Rank	Captain
Service number	23934
Unit	1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
Active service	Korean War Malayan Emergency
Awards	Mentioned in despatches (twice)

Corcoran was a key figure in the modernisation of the state branch of the Labor Party, which had been in opposition since 1933. When the party gained power in 1965, Corcoran was allocated the portfolios of irrigation, lands and repatriation in the government of Frank Walsh. Upon Walsh's retirement in 1968, Corcoran contested the party leadership but was defeated by Dunstan. In the Dunstan cabinet, Corcoran retained responsibility for irrigation and lands, and replaced repatriation with immigration. In March 1968, he became the first formally appointed deputy premier of the state, and gained the tourism portfolio. Two months later, Labor lost government and Corcoran nearly lost his seat, but retained his role as Dunstan's deputy.

At the 1970 state election, Labor returned to the government benches, and Corcoran regained his position as deputy premier, and took up the marine and works ministries. Dunstan and Corcoran had very different styles, but they formed a strong and respectful partnership. From 1975, unfavourable redistributions caused Corcoran to shift to metropolitan seats, first Coles, then from 1977, Hartley, which he held until 1982. Following the 1977 state election, he gained the environment portfolio, retaining marine and works. After Dunstan's resignation, Corcoran became premier and decided to call an early election to gain a personal mandate, buoyed by polling. This proved unwise, as the campaign went badly, business groups and media openly supported the opposition Liberal Party, and Labor lost office. Having retained Hartley, Corcoran resigned as Labor leader and did not contest the 1982 election. Dunstan was angry with Corcoran for wasting a full year of the term of government they had won in 1977, and because he had not continued to pursue Dunstan's policies on industrial democracy and Aboriginal land rights.

Made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1982 in recognition of his service to politics and government, Corcoran was also awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001. He died in 2004 following a long illness, and was granted a state funeral. Described as a larger than life character who was respected on both sides of politics, Corcoran's long and successful partnership with Dunstan was a hallmark of his political life.

Early life and military service

James Desmond "Des" Corcoran was born on 8 November 1928 in Millicent, South Australia. He was the youngest of nine children of Jim Corcoran and his wife Teresa Catherine née Sutton. Jim had served as a corporal in the 27th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force on the Western Front during World War I, and had been wounded during the Battle of Amiens in August 1918. Des attended Tantanoola Primary School, but left school at 13 and worked in a bakery. He joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in 1941. His mother died when he was 16, and around that time he and his older brother Robert embarked on a working holiday around Australia. While in Wollongong in New South Wales, they saw an advertisement for men to enlist in the Australian Army to fight in the Korean War, and after tossing a coin to decide what to do, they both went to enlist.

In the meantime, following his unsuccessful attempt to be elected to the electoral district of Victoria in the South Australian House of Assembly in a by-election in 1932, Jim Corcoran was also unsuccessful in the state elections of 1933 and 1944, before finally prevailing in a by-election in September 1945. He was unsuccessful in his bid to be re-elected in the 1947, and 1950 state elections.

Robert served in Korea as a Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps sergeant with the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in 1951–1952. Des was allocated the service number 23934, and allotted as an infantry soldier and posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR). The battalion trained at Ingleburn, New South Wales, then embarked at Sydney on 3 March 1952 and sailed for Japan on the troop transport MV Devonshire, arriving in Kure on 18 March. After further training, 1 RAR was transported to Korea aboard the Empire Longford and disembarked in Korea on 1 June to join the 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade. The following month the battalion was detached to the British 29th Infantry Brigade, and relieved units on Hills 159, 210 and 355. Its duties included general patrolling along the Jamestown Line, a series of static defensive positions just north of the 38th Parallel (38°N) along which the earlier mobile war had settled into trench warfare. Its main tasks were securing defences, repairing minefield fences, and conducting reconnaissance of enemy positions to gather information.

By early December 1952, Des was a corporal and temporary sergeant in D Company when a four-man patrol was negotiating an enemy minefield. One of the men initiated a mine and was killed by the resulting explosion, which wounded two others. The unwounded soldier ran back to friendly lines for assistance, and Corcoran came forward under enemy mortar fire, dragged and carried the wounded men in, and then brought in the body of the dead soldier. For his "courage and skill in evacuating casualties through minefield gaps", and as a patrol commander in 1 RAR, Corcoran was mentioned in despatches. While Des was still serving in Korea, his father Jim was again elected to the district of Victoria in the March 1953 state election. Des returned to Australia in March 1954, and after several weeks of leave, was posted to New Guinea.

At the 1956 state election, Jim Corcoran successfully contested the new electoral district of Millicent which had been excised from the district of Victoria as part of a redistribution, and successfully defended it in the 1959 state election. On 31 August 1957, Des married Carmel Campbell at the school chapel at Rostrevor College. The couple had eight children. Des Corcoran was promoted to warrant officer class two and served for twenty months as the company sergeant major of the headquarters of the 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade Group in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency, for which he was mentioned in despatches for a second time, this time for "outstanding service". Identified for his potential as an officer but lacking the necessary educational qualifications, Corcoran undertook six months of study with the Australian Army Education Service to receive his intermediate certificate, then completed his leaving certificate in six weeks, completing five subjects with a distinction in English. He was subsequently commissioned as a captain.

Politics

Corcoran in 1962

Des Corcoran left the Army in 1961 and in the 3 March 1962 state election was elected to the House of Assembly for the ALP, succeeding his father as the member for Millicent. He received 53.1 per cent of the two-party-preferred votes (TPP), defeating Ren DeGaris of the Liberal and Country League (LCL). In his first speech in the house, on 24 July 1962, his father was present in the gallery, and he attributed his successful election to James Corcoran's "able and honest representation" of the people of the seat of Millicent. His speech emphasised policy areas that would remain central to his political interests throughout his career. These included: ensuring that country South Australians had the same access to services as those who lived in Adelaide, especially in areas such as utilities and education; and the promotion of the agriculture, fishing and forestry industries in the southeast of the state. He was a strong proponent of the paper industry and water controls for the irrigation scheme in the southeast. Labor had been in opposition in the state since 1933, and Corcoran, along with his colleagues Don Dunstan, Mick Young and Clyde Cameron, was a key player in the modernisation of the state Labor Party as a political force. This saw the ALP develop policy and campaign hard on education, health and working conditions, and against racial discrimination and the malapportionment of electoral districts in the state, known as the Playmander. When the ALP won government in South Australia for the first time since 1930 in the 6 March 1965 state election, Corcoran became Minister of Irrigation, Minister of Lands, and Minister of Repatriation. In the election, Corcoran increased his share of the TPP to 61.8 per cent. Corcoran served on the parliamentary committee on land settlement from March to November 1965. The new Premier, Frank Walsh, was a Catholic like Corcoran, when the Labor caucus was dominated by Protestants, and the ALP federally was still reeling from the 1955 split of the party and the creation of the socially conservative and Catholic-dominated Democratic Labour Party (DLP). Corcoran's father Jim had died in May 1965.

Walsh was already 67 years old when he became premier, and the ALP rules applying at the time required him to retire from parliament at the next election. He was reluctant to do so, and made moves to have the rules modified to allow him to serve on. His party colleagues resisted this, and ultimately the ALP state council passed a congratulatory motion that included thanking him for "selflessly stepping down so that a new leader could establish himself before the next election". In the face of this, Walsh reluctantly resigned effective from 1 June 1967. Coinciding with Walsh's retirement, there was an ALP leadership ballot which included Corcoran, Dunstan, Gabe Bywaters and Cyril Hutchens. Walsh strongly supported Corcoran, perhaps partly because he wrongly believed that Dunstan had been involved in some way with the congratulatory motion that Cameron had moved to push Walsh out. In the first round Corcoran received ten votes and Dunstan nine from the caucus of twenty-five, but in the second round Dunstan was the clear winner with fourteen votes and a majority, with Corcoran receiving eleven votes. In Dunstan's 1967–1968 cabinet, Corcoran dropped the repatriation portfolio and took up immigration, retaining lands and irrigation. Walsh remained in cabinet – with the social welfare portfolio – until March 1968. On 26 March 1968, Corcoran became the first officially-appointed deputy premier – the position having been informal up to that point – and gained the tourism portfolio, which was combined with immigration. Corcoran was a loyal deputy, and the working relationship between the two was "smooth and cooperative", employing an internal consensus style within the party that had been carefully developed by Cameron and the Labor senator Jim Toohey since the late 1940s, and contrasted with the conflict-riven nature of the party in other states, largely due to the influence of the DLP.

Labor lost government at the 2 March 1968 state election, mainly due to losing two marginal rural seats. Corcoran was nearly defeated in his own seat, winning by a single vote over his LCL rival Martin Cameron. Cameron disputed the result and a by-election was held on 22 June, with Corcoran receiving 52.5 per cent of the TPP. This left the ALP and LCL on nineteen seats each, so that the leader of the LCL, Steele Hall, had to rely on the independent Tom Stott, who was elected as Speaker and therefore had a casting vote. The Playmander had enabled the LCL to form a minority government despite only receiving 43 per cent of the state-wide votes. During the term in opposition, Corcoran was Dunstan's deputy, and the pair worked together well despite any rift that may have been caused by the struggle to succeed Walsh.

In Labor's victory at the 30 May 1970 state election, Corcoran retained the seat of Millicent with 54 per cent of the TPP. He resumed his role as deputy premier, and held the works and marine portfolios. Corcoran handled the interaction between the Dunstan ministry and the Labor caucus, using his strong personality to settle disputes. Over the next nine years, Dunstan and Corcoran made an unconventional but strong team. A devout Catholic and man of high personal morals, Corcoran privately opposed many of the social reforms Dunstan was implementing, such as liberalised abortion and homosexuality laws. In addition, Corcoran disliked Dunstan's glamorous image and fondness for the arts. A conservative dresser, Corcoran did not at all share Dunstan's enthusiasm for wearing casual clothes on public occasions. Nevertheless, the two men felt a wary respect for one another and managed to maintain a working relationship. Behind the scenes, Dunstan sometimes found Corcoran's plain-speaking style useful to control others within the ALP.

Corcoran held Millicent with 56.5 per cent of the TPP in the 10 March 1973 state election, defeating the LCL's Murray Vandepeer. When Millicent was subjected to a redistribution following that election, Corcoran's majority was theoretically eliminated, and Corcoran transferred to the eastern Adelaide district of Coles, previously held by Labor by the retiring Len King, for the 12 July 1975 state election. Corcoran won the seat with 52.4 per cent of the TPP, and Vandepeer received 59.9 per cent of the TPP in Millicent. When Coles was in turn subjected to a redistribution that undermined his margin, Corcoran transferred to the newly created and nearby northeastern Adelaide district of Hartley, receiving 58.8 per cent of the TPP at the 17 September 1977 state election, with Coles falling to Jennifer Cashmore of the Liberal Party (the renamed LCL). Corcoran gained the environment portfolio in the new government, while retaining his other portfolios.

By early 1979, Dunstan's health had deteriorated to the point that he could not continue in office, and he resigned in February. Dunstan had wanted Hugh Hudson to replace him, but Hudson lacked the numbers in the caucus despite Dunstan's support, and on 15 February, Corcoran was elected his successor, thus finally achieving his ambition of becoming premier. He also served as state treasurer along with adding the ethnic affairs portfolio to immigration. Mike Rann, who later became premier, served as Corcoran's press secretary during his short premiership. Despite its popularity in the state at the time, Corcoran sidelined Dunstan's push for industrial democracy, where workers would have a say in decision-making within companies. Spurred by positive opinion polls in mid-1979, Corcoran called a snap election after less than a year in the hope that he would gain a mandate of his own. The election campaign was plagued by problems; business groups and the state's main afternoon tabloid newspaper, The News, openly sided with the Liberal Party.

The gravestone on Des Corcoran's grave at North Brighton Cemetery

At the 15 September 1979 state election, the Liberals under David Tonkin achieved an eleven per cent swing towards them and won. Corcoran held Hartley with 50.7 per cent of the TPP. Corcoran resigned his commissions as premier and treasurer on 18 September, and resigned from the Labor leadership on 2 October. He was succeeded by the much younger John Bannon, whose urbane style and academic background meant he was much closer in style to Dunstan than to Corcoran. At the 6 November 1982 state election, Bannon easily defeated Tonkin and led Labor back into government, but Corcoran did not contest his seat of Hartley, which was retained for Labor by Terry Groom. Dunstan was angry with Corcoran, feeling that he had wasted a full year of the term they had won in 1977, and had not continued to pursue Aboriginal land rights and industrial democracy.

Corcoran was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 1982 Australia Day Honours, "in recognition of service to politics and government". Between 1983 and 1987 Corcoran served on the Council of the Australian War Memorial. In 2001, Corcoran was awarded the Centenary Medal.

Death and legacy

Corcoran died in Adelaide on 3 January 2004, aged 75, after a long illness. Upon his death, Rann, by then premier himself, described the strong and historic political partnership between Dunstan and Corcoran as "very successful", despite the two being "chalk and cheese". Rann went on to say that Corcoran would be "sorely missed" as someone who was larger than life and respected across the political spectrum in South Australia. He also noted that Corcoran would be remembered "for his gregarious personality and how he so often used humour to heal differences". Don Hopgood, who served as education minister alongside Corcoran, observed that he brought strength to the Dunstan administration. Then opposition leader Dean Brown, who had himself served as premier between 1993 and 1996, stated that Corcoran was "approachable and enjoyed a good yarn and joke", and recalled that "his word could always be trusted and all members of the Parliament held him in very high esteem". Corcoran was farewelled with a state funeral held at St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide, on 8 January, and was buried at North Brighton Cemetery.

References

Books

• Jaensch, Dean (2007). History of South Australian Elections 1857–2006 House of Assembly. Vol. 1. Rose Park, South Australia: State Electoral Office. ISBN 978-0-9750486-3-4. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014.
• Kefford, Glenn; Murphy-Gregory, Hannah; Ward, Ian; Jackson, Stewart; Cox, Lloyd; Carson, Andrea (2018). Australian Politics in the Twenty-First Century: Old Institutions, New Challenges. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-57756-4.
• Moss, Jim (1985). Sound of Trumpets: History of the Labour Movement in South Australia. Adelaide: Wakefield Press. ISBN 978-0-949268-06-8.
• Parkin, Andrew (1981). "The Dunstan Governments: a Political Synopsis". In Parkin, Andrew; Patience, Allan (eds.). The Dunstan Decade: Social Democracy at the State Level. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire. pp. 1–21. ISBN 0-582-71466-4.
• Plowman, Peter (2003). Across the sea to war: Australian and New Zealand troop convoys from 1865 through two World Wars to Korea and Vietnam. Dural, New South Wales: Rosenberg. ISBN 978-1-877058-06-6.
• Stokes, Geoff; Cox, Richard (1981). "The ALP and the Politics of Consensus". In Parkin, Andrew; Patience, Allan (eds.). The Dunstan Decade: Social Democracy at the State Level. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire. pp. 256–280. ISBN 0-582-71466-4.
• Woollacott, Angela (2019). Don Dunstan: The Visionary Politician who Changed Australia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-76063-181-9.

Newspapers and journals

• "Concerning People". The South Eastern Times. No. 4482. South Australia. 30 March 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 13 May 2023 – via Trove.
• Doherty, Elissa; Heggen, Belinda (4 January 2004). "Former Premier Corcoran Dies". Sunday Mail. Adelaide. p. 2.
• "Dunstan to be Premier of SA". The Canberra Times. Vol. 41, no. 11, 702. Australian Capital Territory. 31 May 1967. p. 1. Retrieved 14 May 2023 – via Trove.
• "Engagements and Approaching Marriages". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 29 August 1957.
• Jory, Rex (4 February 2004). "New Broom Moved Fast". Sunday Mail. Adelaide. p. 14.
• Kelton, G. (5 January 2004). "Pragmatic man of the people not forgotten". The Advertiser. Adelaide. p. 18.
• "Last Duties for SA Premier". The Canberra Times. Vol. 41, no. 11, 698. Australian Capital Territory. 26 May 1967. p. 1. Retrieved 14 May 2023 – via Trove.
• "Lieut.-Col. heads list of awards in Malaya". Australian Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. Vol. 1, no. 9. Australia. 14 January 1960. p. 2. Retrieved 13 May 2023 – via Trove.
• "Memorial Position". The Canberra Times. Vol. 61, no. 18, 781. Australian Capital Territory. 6 March 1987. p. 3. Retrieved 26 July 2023 – via Trove.
• "Mr Corcoran, South Australia's New Premier: A no-nonsense right-winger comes to the helm". The Canberra Times. Vol. 53, no. 15, 861. Australian Capital Territory. 25 February 1979. p. 2. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Trove.
• "Mt. Gambier School of Music and Speech". The Border Watch. Vol. 80, no. 8718. South Australia. 24 December 1940. p. 7. Retrieved 16 May 2023 – via Trove.
• "Soldiers Move In". Australian Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. Vol. 13, no. 23. Australia. 27 January 1972. p. 7. Retrieved 13 May 2023 – via Trove.
• "War Memorial Body Appointees". The Canberra Times. Vol. 58, no. 17, 540. Australian Capital Territory. 7 October 1983. p. 7. Retrieved 26 July 2023 – via Trove.

Hansard and parliamentary papers

• James Desmond Corcoran, Member for Millicent (24 July 1962). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). South Australia: House of Assembly. pp. 222–226.

Websites

• "1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment". Australian War Memorial. Australian Government. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
• Bannon, John (2002). "Walsh, Francis Henry (1897–1968)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 16. Melbourne University Press. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
• "Corcoran, James Desmond". Korean War Service: Corcoran, James Desmond. Department of Veterans' Affairs. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
• "Corcoran, Robert Brian". Korean War Service: Corcoran, Robert Brian. Department of Veterans' Affairs. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
• "Des Corcoran Farewelled with State Funeral". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 January 2004. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
• "Former SA Premier Dead at 75". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 January 2004. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
• "Hon Des Corcoran AO". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
• "Honours and Awards (Recommendation): James Desmond Corcoran". Australian War Memorial. Australian Government. 2 July 1953. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
• "Honours and Awards (Recommendation): James Desmond Corcoran". Australian War Memorial. Australian Government. 25 September 1959. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
• "Mr James Corcoran". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
• "NAA: B2455, CORCORAN J". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
• "The Honourable James Desmond Corcoran - Centenary Medal". Australian Honours Search Facility. Australian Government. 1 January 2001. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
• "The Honourable James Desmond Corcoran - Officer of the Order of Australia". Australian Honours Search Facility. Australian Government. 26 January 1982. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
• Woollacott, Angela (2022). "Donald Allan (Don) Dunstan (1926–1999)". Dunstan, Donald Allan (Don) (1926–1999). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 14 May 2023.

Others

• City of Holdfast Bay (2023). North Brighton Cemetery (Map). North Brighton Cemetery.