Jack O'Neill (statistician)

John Patrick O'Neill (1910 – 11 October 1998) was an Australian public servant, who served as Australia's Commonwealth Statistician (head of the Bureau of Statistics) from 1970 to 1975, and Australian Statistician from 1975 to 1976.

O'Neill was born in Wynyard, Tasmania where he attended primary school, later boarding at St Virgil's College in Hobart. In 1927, he began working at the Hobart office of the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, and began studying for a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Tasmania which he discontinued due to illness. In 1937, he transferred to the Bureau's Canberra office working under Roland Wilson, with secondments to the Bureau of Meteorology and Department of Commerce and Agriculture during World War II.[1]

When the Commonwealth Statistician—his friend and colleague, fellow Tasmanian Keith Archer—took sick leave in 1970, O'Neill acted as Commonwealth Statistician[2] until he was officially appointed in 1972,[3] then continued as the Australian Statistician when the role and the Bureau were renamed in 1975, until he retired due to invalidity in August that year.[4]

  1. ^ "Two great Commonwealth Statisticians". Year Book 2000. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  2. ^ "ORDERS IN COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS AND ACTING APPOINTMENTS AS PERMANENT HEAD APPOINTMENT OF JOHN PATRICK O'NEILL AS ACTING COMMONWEALTH STATISTICIAN". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. No. 95. Australia. 29 October 1970. p. 7257. Retrieved 23 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "APPOINTMENT OF MR JOHN PATRICK O'NEILL AS COMMONWEALTH STATISTICIAN". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. No. 29. Australia. 13 April 1972. p. 24. Retrieved 23 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "RETIREMENTS AND DISMISSALS". Australian Government Gazette. Public Service. No. PS36. Australia. 11 September 1975. p. 7. Retrieved 23 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.