page_title: King O'Malley
section_title: Move to Australia
hierarchical_section_title: King O'Malley / Move to Australia
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of future politician King O&#39;Malley at the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition of 1888. He is listed in the official albums as a representative of Thomas Evans &amp; Co., an American glass manufacturer.
context_page_description: King O'Malley was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 1917, and served two terms as Minister for Home Affairs. He is remembered for his role in the development of the national capital Canberra, as well as his advocacy for the creation of a national bank.
  O'Malley was of American origin and arrived in Australia in 1888. He worked as an insurance salesman before entering politics, in both professions making use of his knack for oratory and publicity stunts. He served a single term in the South Australian House of Assembly, before moving to Tasmania and winning election to the House of Representatives at the inaugural 1901 federal election. O'Malley was a political radical, and joined the Labor Party upon its creation despite his status as one of the wealthiest members of parliament. He was a keen proponent of banking reform, especially the creation of a national bank, and successfully lobbied for its inclusion in the Labor platform. He was dissatisfied with the initial form of the Commonwealth Bank, but later proclaimed himself as its "father"; the amount of credit he deserves for its creation has been debated.
context_section_description: In April 1888, the Oregon City Courier published an article titled "King O’Malley Exposed". The newspaper reported that he and a partner had "placed policies to the amount of tens of thousands of dollars by misrepresentation", and that the Home Life Insurance Company was actively warning customers not to take any money from him. O'Malley left for Australia a few months later, arriving in Sydney in late July 1888. He travelled from San Francisco via Hawaii aboard the SS Mariposa. He then went south to attend the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition; his photograph appears in the exhibition's official albums, where he is listed as a representative of an American glass manufacturer.
  O'Malley had a different version of his arrival in Australia. According to his account, he moved to Australia for health reasons, as he was suffering from tuberculosis. He supposedly arrived in the country at Port Alma, Queensland, then took up residence in a cave at Emu Park where an Aboriginal man named Coowonga nursed him back to health. He subsequently walked overland to Sydney and Melbourne before eventually reaching Adelaide. Of this account, Hoyle (1981) states "whatever its merits as a story, it has absolutely none as a statement of fact". O'Malley fabricated a dramatic arrival story to hide his real reason for leaving the United States – to escape embezzlement allegations. Given the documentary evidence placing him in Sydney and Melbourne in 1888, it would have required a rapid recovery from tuberculosis followed by a walking journey of hundreds of miles, conducted within a timespan of several months.
caption: Photo of O'Malley from the official album of the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition, 1888
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