Don Day

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Donald Day (19 February 1924 – 18 May 2010) was an Australian Labor Party politician in New South Wales. He served in the NSW Legislative Assembly for Casino from 1971 to 1981 and for Clarence from 1981 to 1984. After the 1976 election, he was Minister for Decentralisation and Development and Minister for Primary Industries in the Neville Wran government, later holding other rural portfolios until he retired before the 1984 election.

Early life: Day was born in Melbourne, the son of engineer Alfred Day. He grew up during the Great Depression, and his father left the family, leaving his mother to raise three children. He studied at Swinburne Technical College, trained as a fitter and turner, and joined the Australian forces in 1941, later serving in the Royal Australian Air Force as a Catalina pilot, where he met his wife Marie Davis. After the war they moved to Maclean and ran a car and farm equipment business.

Politics: Day joined the Labor Party at 28 and served in local government before entering state politics. He won Casino in 1971, the first Labor member for that seat since 1927. When Casino was abolished before the 1981 election, he won Clarence and served as a minister in the Wran government, focusing on decentralisation, development and primary industries, and other rural portfolios until retiring in 1984. He and Marie had three children: Jenny, Bill and Suzanne. He died in 2010 at age 86.