John David Hennessey

{{Short description|Australian writer}}

{{other people||John Hennessey (disambiguation)}}

{{EngvarB|date=August 2015}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}

John David Hennessey (1847 – 31 July 1935), also known as Rev. J. D. Hennessey and David Hennessey,{{Cite web|url=http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A4867|title=David Hennessey|last=|first=|date=30 September 2008|website=Austlit|publisher=|access-date=24 January 2017|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202033039/http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A4867|url-status=live}} journalist and author, was born in London and went to Australia in 1875.{{Cite web |date=2015-02-03 |title=John David Hennessey Diary 1875 |url=https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/tqqf2h/alma99258203402061 |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=State Library of Queensland |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323043232/https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/discovery/fulldisplay?&context=L&vid=61SLQ_INST:SLQ&search_scope=Everything&tab=All&docid=alma99258203402061 |url-status=live }} He lived in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Hennessey was a Methodist and Congregational minister and preached at the Wharf street Congregational Church in Brisbane and the Pitt street Congregational Church in Sydney.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225391772|title=REV. DAVID HENNESSEY|date=17 August 1935|newspaper=Northern Star|location=New South Wales, Australia|volume=60|page=5|via=National Library of Australia|accessdate=24 January 2017|archive-date=17 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217024539/http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225391772|url-status=live}} He founded the Australian Christian World in 1886 and edited it until 1891. In 1894 he edited the Australian Field, a weekly agricultural paper.

Hennessey retired from journalism when he was about seventy years old, however he continued his literary work until shortly before his death, which occurred after a brief illness. He was buried at the Dromana Cemetery.

As well as short stories in magazines in Australia and England, Hennessey published several novels. One, The Outlaw, was awarded second prize of £400 in a £1,000 novel competition. Hennessey kept a diary on his voyage from England to Australia on the ship Lammermuir and it is now held in the State Library of Queensland.