Family background
Leo Frederick Gill was born in 1890, son of Frederick and Maggie Gill. In 1916 he married Ethel Elizabeth Dalton at Sydney. He died at Katoomba on 12 September 1973, aged 83 years. Ethel Glll died on 14 April 1960.
Occupation & interests
From 1925 when the Labor Party wrested control of Glebe Council the manner and dress of the new aldermen differed from those previously ensconced on Council. Unskilled and semi-skilled occupations were predominant among its aldermen; Leo Gill was a labourer.
Community activity
In the interwar years, many Glebe Labor Party members were Catholic, anti-Communist, strongly conservative and were likely to belong to a moderate union. The accusations by Gill against the administration of Glebe Council indicates a culture of petty corruption that pervaded council between 1926 and 1929. Perhaps looking after your mates was part of working class culture, and various forms of corruption were excused in this way.
Local government service
Leo Gill was president of the Glebe Branch in June 1929 when he argued in Glebe Council there was a need for a full inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the election of the mayor and deputy mayor. He was censured for making public statements reflecting on the council and creating discord. In tending his resignation in May 1930 he said ‘I cannot conscientiously allow myself to be associated with the present council and still retain my self-respect’.
References
Hogan, Michael 2004, Local labor: a history of the Labor Party in Glebe, 1891-2003, Federation Press, Annandale, NSW
Sydney Morning Herald, 3 December 1928, p. 14
Sydney Morning Herald, 19 June 1929, p. 13
Sydney Morning Herald, 22 June 1929, p. 16
Sydney Morning Herald, 31 May 1930, p. 13
Sydney Morning Herald, 13 September 1973, p. 28