Ralph James "Mick" Clough (22 October 1927 – 12 August 2008) was an Australian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was a Labor Party Member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

from 1976 to 1981, representing the electorate of Blue Mountains and representing the electorate of Bathurst from 1981 to 1988 and again from 1991 to 1999.

Private life

Clough was born to Michael "Gordon" Clough and Irene Clough (née Smith) in

Warialda, New South Wales Warialda is a town in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Gwydir Shire. Situated on the banks of Warialda Creek, the town's name means "Place of Wild Honey" in local aboriginal language. At the , Warialda had a popula ...

on 22 October 1927. Although christened Ralph James he was known as "little Mick" after his father. Clough attended schools in Warialda, Granville, Hornsby and then

St Patrick's College, Strathfield , motto_translation = Matthew 5:16: Let Your Light Shine , location = , Inner West Sydney , state = New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , other_na ...

Early years

After leaving school he followed his father's occupation and worked for the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

then

Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post o ...

as a

telegraphist A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is an operator who uses a telegraph key to send and receive the Morse code in order to communicate by land lines or radio. During the Great War the Royal ...

and

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

for a total of 34 years in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

before entering politics. As a telegram boy during World War II, he was often an unwelcome sight, bringing bad news of loved ones. He served as a member of the

Citizens Military Force The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...

from 1948 to 1964. In 1951, Clough, aged 24, married Doreen Frost and they had three children: Elizabeth, Peter and David. Peter Clough went on to play interstate cricket for

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and

, and was inducted into the Tasmanian Cricket Hall of Fame. Having joined the Australian Labor Party in 1948, Clough stood unsuccessfully in the 1973 State election for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in the electoral district of Blue Mountains. He entered public office as an alderman on the

Blue Mountains City Council The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains range west of Sydney. The Mayor of Blue Mountains City Council is coun ...

from 1974 to 1979.

New South Wales state political career

In 1976 Clough again contested the seat of Blue Mountains, this time winning the election and reversing the victory of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

sitting member Harold Coates three years earlier. Clough was subsequently re-elected in the 1978 State election. In the 1981 State election, following an electoral boundary adjustment, Clough stood for election in the electoral district of Bathurst which he won defeating Country Party of Australia sitting member, Clive Osborne with a margin of 0.05%. He was subsequently re-elected to that seat in the 1984 State election. At the 1988 State election, Clough lost the seat to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate David Berry. He contested the 1991 State election, regaining the seat from Berry. Clough retained the seat at the 1995 State election. He decided not to contest the 1999 State election and retired from public life. Former Lithgow Mayor,

Gerard Martin Gerard Francis Martin MP (born 28 May 1946), a former Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Bathurst between 1999 and 2011 for the Labor Party. Martin has worked as an ...

, successfully retained the seat for Labor. Clough did not achieve a higher office during his lengthy parliamentary career. (He did, however, serve as Acting Chairman of Committees for a short time in 1997). Friends and colleagues recalled Clough as a tough fighter for his electorate. During his terms in office his achievements included Bathurst's Macquarie Homes retirement village. He was a strong opponent of privatisation of power stations, financial deregulation and cuts to local services.

After politics

Following his retirement from politics in 1999, Clough and his wife Doreen operated the Coolawin Gardens Motel in

Nambucca Heads Nambucca Heads is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Nambucca Valley. It is located on a ridge, north of the estuary of the Nambucca River near the Pacific Highway. Its 2021 population was 6,675 (6,327 in 2016 ...

. In 2002 Clough retired to

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

where he died on 12 August 2008 following a long battle with

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

References

External links

Speeches in Hansard by Mick Clough
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clough, Mick 1927 births 2008 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly People educated at St Patrick's College, Strathfield Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian military personnel Australian Army personnel Military personnel from New South Wales