Richard Keane

Who was Richard Keane?

Richard Valentine Keane was an Australian politician.

Keane was born in Beechworth, Victoria and, after his police constable father was transferred to Melbourne, was educated at Christian Brothers College, St Kilda. When he was 16 he took a position as a clerk in the Victorian Railways. In 1909 he married Ruby Thorne and they subsequently had a son and two daughters. From 1918 he was an office holder in the Victorian Railways Union, which became part of the Australian Railways Union in 1920. He was General Secretary of the ARU from 1925 to 1929. His wife died in 1923 and he married Millicent Dunn in 1940.