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The HonourablePat HillsAO
6th Deputy Premier of New South Wales
In office 30 April 1964 – 13 May 1965
Premier	Jack Renshaw
Preceded by	Jack Renshaw
Succeeded by	Charles Cutler
22nd Leader of the Opposition of New South Wales Elections: 1971, 1973
In office 2 December 1968 – 17 November 1973
Deputy	Syd Einfeld
Preceded by	Jack Renshaw
Succeeded by	Neville Wran
68th Lord Mayor of Sydney
In office 9 December 1952 – 30 November 1956
Deputy	Frank Green Kevin Dwyer Anthony Doherty
Preceded by	Ernest Charles O'Dea
Succeeded by	Harry Jensen
Alderman of the Sydney City Council
In office 4 December 1948 – 4 December 1953
Constituency	Flinders Ward
In office 5 December 1953 – 30 November 1956
Constituency	City Ward
Personal details
Born	Patrick Darcy Hills (1917-12-31)31 December 1917 Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia
Died	22 April 1992(1992-04-22) (aged 74) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Stella Steele Hills

Patrick Darcy Hills AO (31 December 1917 – 22 April 1992) was a New South Wales politician. He served in various high offices across the state most notably the Deputy Premier of New South Wales, Leader of the Opposition and as the Lord Mayor of Sydney.

Early life

Hills was born in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills. He was educated at Marist Brothers High School, Darlinghurst and was apprenticed as an electrical engineer.

He was an alderman on Sydney City Council from 1948 to 1956 and Lord Mayor of Sydney from 1953 to 1956, during which time he was fooled into carrying a fake Olympic torch.

Political career

Hills was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Phillip in 1954, representing the Labor Party; he held the seat till its abolition in 1981. Then, until 1988, he served as member for Elizabeth.

He was Minister for Local Government in the cabinet of Premier Robert Heffron (1959-1964). When Heffron retired in April 1964, Hills and Deputy Premier Jack Renshaw were considered the most likely successors, but his relative youth and manner compared to Renshaw was seen as an obstacle, as an article in The Bulletin noted: "Hills, who rose rapidly in the parliamentary party under the patronage of the late Joe Cahill, lists in “Who’s Who” one of his hobbies as “study of local government administration”, a demonstration of his essential dourness. He has the vice, for a politician, of not suffering fools gladly and it is this that feeds a habit of arrogance which has made him many unnecessary enemies."

In any event, Hills did not contest the leadership in the caucus ballot held on 29 April 1964, and Renshaw was elected leader and premier unopposed. Hills did however contest for the deputy premiership, and was successful 33 votes to 19 against health minister Bill Sheahan.

Following Renshaw's departure from the Labor leadership, Hills was the State Opposition Leader from 1968 to 1973; at the 1971 and 1973 state elections he was narrowly defeated by the Liberal Premier, Sir Robert Askin.

During his long Parliamentary service of 34 years, Hills served terms as Deputy Premier and as Minister in a number of portfolios including Local Government, Highways, Mines, Energy, Industrial Relations, Technology, Roads and Employment. In opposition he served as Deputy Leader for three years and Leader for five years. His many notable initiatives and achievements as a Minister include the Sydney to Newcastle Highway, the construction of the Gladesville Bridge and establishment of the State Planning Authority now known as the NSW Department of Planning. One of his major achievements was the building of the Eraring and Bayswater power stations. He has been accused of sabotaging the 1948 Cumberland County Plan for Sydney, "flogging the green belt out the back door before the ink was dry".

Later life and career

He served as a member of the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sports Ground Trust from July 1961 to December 1989, and was Chairman of the Trust during its significant expansion period from 1977 to 1989. Until John Robertson's resignation in 2014, Hills was the only New South Wales Labor Leader not to have been premier since World War II.

Hills died in Sydney and was cremated with his ashes interred at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens.

Honours

Hills was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 1988 Australia Day Honours.

The suburb of Hillsdale, New South Wales is named after Hills.

References

1. "The Hon. Patrick Darcy Hills (1917-1992)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
2. "Patrick Darcy Hills". Sydney's Aldermen. City of Sydney. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
3. Hall, Richard (15 February 1964). "Dumping a Premier: The struggle for succession". The Bulletin. 86 (4382): 7. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
4. "Mr. Renshaw Takes Over Today". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 30 April 1964. p. 1. Retrieved 28 July 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "A real city needs more than just tying up loose ends". 17 December 2014.
6. "HILLS, Patrick Darcy - Officer of the Order of Australia". It's an Honour database. Australian Government. 26 January 1988. Retrieved 10 April 2018. For service to the New South Wales Parliament and to local government.

• 1917 births
• 1992 deaths
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
• Deputy premiers of New South Wales
• Officers of the Order of Australia
• Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney
• Leaders of the Opposition in New South Wales
• Politicians from Sydney
• Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales
• Australian Labor Party councillors
• 20th-century Australian politicians
• Councillors of Sydney County Council
• Burials at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens