William James Frederick "Bill" Riordan Commander of the Order of the British Empire was an Australian politician and Minister for the Navy.
Background
Riordan was born in Chillagoe, Queensland, son of Jim Riordan (a member of the Queensland Legislative Council from 1917 to 1923) and nephew of Darby Riordan (member for Kennedy from 1929 to 1936) and Ernest Riordan (a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1936).
Education
He was educated at state schools at Chillagoe, Mareeba and Gordonvale and at Brisbane Grammar School.
Career
He worked in the Queensland Department of Justice and then became secretary to his father when he was appointed to the Industrial Court of Queensland in 1933. He was appointed Minister for the Navy in the Chifley ministry from November 1946 to the defeat of the government at the 1949 election. Kennedy was a very large electorate, which meant Riordan had to travel constantly to meet his constituents, particularly workers in the sugar, mining and meat processing industries, in order to be re-elected.
Riordan was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1967.
He died of pneumonia at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and was buried in Nudgee Cemetery.