Joe Clark (Australian politician)
Encyclopedia
Joseph "Joe" James Clark, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (29 July 1897, at Coonamble, New South Wales
Coonamble, New South Wales
Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the Castlereagh Highway north-west of Gilgandra. At the 2006 census, Coonamble had a population of 2,549...

 – 9 December 1992) was an Australian politician, serving in the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 as the Member for Darling
Division of Darling
The Division of Darling was an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. From 1901 until 1922 it was based on Bourke, Cobar, Nyngan, Coonamble and Gilgandra. From 1906 it also...

 from 15 September 1934 to 29 September 1969, a term of making him one of the longest-serving members of the House of Representatives.

Clark's father was Joseph Alfred Clark, a New South Wales state MLA and tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...

 from Dubbo. Clark was educated at Holy Cross College
Holy Cross College Ryde
Holy Cross College is a Catholic high school in the suburb of Gladesville in Sydney, Australia established in the tradition of the Patrician Brothers.- History and Tradition :...

 at Ryde
Ryde, New South Wales
Ryde is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ryde is located 13 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and 8 km east of Parramatta. Ryde is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Suburbs area...

.

Prior to his parliamentary career, Joe Clark also operated as a tailor at Coonamble
Coonamble, New South Wales
Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the Castlereagh Highway north-west of Gilgandra. At the 2006 census, Coonamble had a population of 2,549...

 and later at Dover Heights
Dover Heights, New South Wales
Dover Heights is a coastal, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Dover Heights is located 9 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council...

 in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. He went on to serve as an alderman Coonamble Council for nine years, including three terms as Mayor of Coonamble. He was president of the Coonamble branch of the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 and was president of the Castlereagh Electorate council. He was closely associated with the N.S.W. State Labor Group under the leadership of Jack Beasley
Jack Beasley
John Albert "Jack" Beasley was an Australian politician.-Early life:Beasley was born in Werribee, Victoria, but moved to Sydney with his family as a child. He had a primary education in Catholic schools then became an apprentice electrician...

.

Clark sat on a number of industry committees and bodies, including the Australian Meat Industry Commission from 1942 to 1943, the Federal Meat Advisory Committee from 1943 to 1946, and in 1946 he led a delegation to the Iron and Steel Committee. He was Chairman of Committees and Deputy Speaker in the House from 1946 to 1949.

In 1970 he was awarded a CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

.
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