Brendan Hansen

Who was Brendan Hansen?

Brendan Percival Hansen, OAM was an Australian politician. Born in Maryborough, Queensland, he was educated at Christian Brothers High School before becoming a shipwright loftsman and carpenter.

He was an official with the Federal Shipwrights and Ship Constructers Association and a Maryborough City Councillor before entering federal politics. In 1958, he ran for the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor candidate for Wide Bay, losing to Country candidate Henry Bandidt. However, he sought a rematch against Bandidt in 1961 and won. It was the first time Labor had won the seat since 1915. He held the seat until his defeat in 1974 by the Country Party's Clarrie Millar. He sought a rematch against Millar in 1975, but was heavily defeated. In 1977, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as the member for Maryborough, a position he held until 1983.