Aloysius Rodoreda, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetAloysius Rodoreda
Australian politician
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Perth, Western Australia, Australia
About Aloysius Rodoreda
- Aloysius Joseph "Loy" Rodoreda (29 May 1892 – 11 March 1958) was an Australian politician who was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1953 to 1956.
- A member of the Labor Party, he sat in parliament from 1933 to his death in 1958, first representing Roebourne and then Pilbara, both located in the state's North-West. Rodoreda was born in Perth to Julia (née Down) and Edward John Rodoreda, a storekeeper of Catalan and Irish descent.
- From a Roman Catholic family, he was educated at Christian Brothers' College, Perth, and subsequently held a variety of jobs in country Western Australia, including as a clerk at Wyndham, a Public Works Department paymaster at Kondinin, and a wharfinger and general merchant at Roebourne.
- Rodoreda was first elected to parliament at the 1933 state election, becoming only the second member of the Labor Party to represent Roebourne, an original Legislative Assembly district.
- He defeated the sitting Nationalist member, John Church, who had only been elected to parliament in a by-election the previous year.Although Labor was in government from the 1933 election through to the 1947 election, Rodoreda was not a member of any of the ministries led by Philip Collier, John Willcock, and Frank Wise.
- He was, however, a member of several Legislative Assembly committees, and served as Opposition Whip from 1947 to 1950, following the defeat of Wise's government.
- Roebourne was abolished at a redistribution prior to the 1950 election, and Rodoreda successfully transferred to Pilbara, another original electorate.
- He held comfortable majorities throughout his time in parliament, on two occasions gaining over two-thirds of the vote.Following Labor's return to government at the 1953 election, Rodoreda was elected speaker.
- He presided over a "heavy legislative programme", with the new premier, Albert Hawke, passing a record number of bills in the first session of the new parliament despite conflict with the Legislative Council.
- Following the Labor candidate's defeat at the 1955 Bunbury by-election, Rodoreda's position as speaker meant Hawke's government was reduced to a minority in the Legislative Assembly.
- A motion of no confidence failed to pass, however, and Labor gained a three-seat majority at the 1956 election.
- Rodoreda was replaced as speaker by James Hegney, but remained in parliament until his death in Melbourne in March 1958.
- Labor's Arthur Bickerton won Pilbara at the resulting by-election, elected unopposed.
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