Editing William McMahon (section)

==Early life==
===Birth and family background===
McMahon was born in [[Redfern, New South Wales|Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales]], on 23 February 1908. He was the third of five children born to solicitor William Daniel McMahon and Mary (née Walder), daughter of a sailmaker; an older brother predeceased him.<ref name=adb>{{cite book|title=Australian Dictionary of Biography |author=[[Julian Leeser]]|chapter-url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mcmahon-sir-william-billy-15043 |entry=McMahon, Sir William (Billy) (1908–1988)|publisher=[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]|year=2012}}</ref> His father, a Catholic, had a reputation as a heavy drinker and habitual gambler; his mother, an Anglican, was of English and Irish descent.<ref name=p144>{{cite book|author=[[Don Whitington]]|title=Twelfth Man?|year=1972|publisher=The Jacaranda Press|page=144}}</ref>

McMahon's paternal grandfather, James "Butty" McMahon, was born in [[County Clare]], [[Munster]], Ireland, and married Mary Coyle of [[County Fermanagh]], [[Ulster]], Ireland. He arrived in Australia as a child, and eventually founded his own [[freight company]], which became one of the largest in Sydney. Upon his death in 1914, his estate was valued at almost £240,000, an immense sum at the time.{{efn|£240,000 in 1914 equates to about A$25.5 million in [[purchasing power]] {{As of|2018|lc=y}}, according to the [https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/australiacompare/ MeasuringWorth comparison tool].}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Australian Dictionary of Biography |author=Anthony Norman|chapter-url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mcmahon-james-jimmy-13071 |entry=McMahon, James (Jimmy) (1838–1914)|publisher=[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]|year=2005}}</ref>

===Childhood and education===
McMahon spent his early life in Redfern. His mother died in 1917, when he was nine years old, and he was subsequently raised by her relatives.<ref name=p144/> He moved home frequently as he was shifted between family members, living for periods in [[Kensington, New South Wales|Kensington]], [[Beecroft, New South Wales|Beecroft]], [[Gordon, New South Wales|Gordon]], and [[Centennial Park, New South Wales|Centennial Park]]. McMahon saw little of his father or his siblings, who were raised separately; his older brother James died of [[Spanish flu]] in 1919. His uncle [[Samuel Walder]] – a businessman who was [[Lord Mayor of Sydney]] in 1932 – acted as a sort of surrogate father.

McMahon began his education at [[Abbotsholme College]], a short-lived private school in [[Killara, New South Wales|Killara]]. One of his schoolmates there was [[Harold Holt]], another future prime minister. He was later sent to [[Sydney Grammar School]], where he was an above-average student without excelling academically.<ref>Whitington (1972), p. 145.</ref>

McMahon's father died when he was 18, leaving him a substantial inheritance.<ref name=p144/> He had failed the [[Higher School Certificate (New South Wales)|leaving certificate]] at Sydney Grammar. However, by his passing a [[Matriculation examination|matriculation exam]], McMahon was able to enter the [[University of Sydney]] in 1927. At the insistence of his uncle, he chose to study law, graduating with a [[Bachelor of Laws]] in 1930.<ref name=p146>Whitington (1972), p. 146.</ref> McMahon, who lived at [[St Paul's College, University of Sydney|St Paul's College]], was more interested in the social scene than his degree. He spent his inheritance freely, owning several [[racehorse]]s, and was known for betting significant amounts on the races. According to [[Alan Reid (journalist)|Alan Reid]], "his reputation was that he completed his university career on less actual work than anyone in the college".<ref name=reid>{{cite news|author=[[Alan Reid (journalist)|Alan Reid]]|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229622998|newspaper=[[The Sun (Sydney)|The Sun]]|date=18 July 1950|title=Politician who shuns the limelight|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319004227/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229622998|archive-date=19 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite his diminutive physique – he stood {{convert|5|ft|7|in|cm}} as an adult – McMahon did achieve some success as an athlete. He won his university's lightweight boxing title, and in his final year at Sydney Grammar rowed in the [[Head of the River (New South Wales)|Head of the River]] race.<ref name=p146/>

===Legal career and military service===
According to [[Don Whitington]], McMahon's life before entering politics was "the aimless, indolent existence of a wealthy young man with a position in a big city's smart set, no positive ambition or even interests, except in enjoying himself, and no family ties to give him a feeling of responsibility or even consideration for others".<ref name=p147>Whitington (1972), p. 147.</ref> After graduating from university, he secured a position as a solicitor with [[Allens (law firm)|Allen, Allen & Hemsley]], a major Sydney law firm; he was made a junior partner in 1939.<ref name=adb/> He was assigned to the [[Commonwealth Bank]] and the [[Bank of New South Wales]] for periods, which helped spark his interest in economics.<ref name=reid/> McMahon had hoped to practise as a [[barrister]], but his partial deafness made this impractical. His hearing remained an issue throughout his life, making parliamentary debates hard to follow, but did improve somewhat through surgery and the use of hearing aids.<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Mungo Wentworth MacCallum|Mungo MacCallum]]|title=The Good, the Bad and the Unlikely: Australia's Prime Ministers|publisher=Black Inc.|year=2014|page=146}}</ref>

In April 1940, McMahon was commissioned as a lieutenant in the [[Citizens Military Force]]. He transferred to the [[Second Australian Imperial Force|Australian Imperial Force]] (the regular army) in October 1940, and was promoted to captain in 1942 and to major in 1943.<ref name=army>[https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1617/MembersWWII Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war: the Second World War] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110225430/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1617/MembersWWII |date=10 November 2017 }}, Australian Parliamentary Library, 9 September 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018.</ref> McMahon was turned down for overseas service due to his hearing loss and a knee injury. In the early part of the war he was attached to coastal defence units in Sydney.<ref name=p147/> He later served on the headquarters staff of the [[II Corps (Australia)|II Corps]] (1942–1943) and the [[Second Army (Australia)|Second Army]] (1943–1945). He was formally discharged in October 1945.<ref name=army/>

After leaving the military, McMahon travelled overseas for 18 months, visiting Europe and North America. His experience of post-war Europe was said to have been one of the primary influences on his subsequent decision to enter politics.<ref name="p148"/> In 1947, McMahon returned to the University of Sydney to study economics and [[public administration]]. He graduated with a [[Bachelor of Economics]] degree in 1948, completing the course two years early due to his previous studies. He topped his economics class and won two prizes for proficiency in his final year.<ref name=reid/>