Clem Jones AO (16 January 191815 December 2007), a surveyor by profession, was the longest serving

Lord Mayor of Brisbane The Lord Mayor of Brisbane is the chief executive of the City of Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland, and the head of the Brisbane City Council. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner of the Liberal National Party was sworn in on ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, representing the Labor Party from 1961 to 1975. He was chair of the Darwin Reconstruction Commission from 1975 to 1978. He was a successful businessman and philanthropist.

Public life

During Jones' 15 years in office as the head of the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

, assisted by the Town Clerk J. C. Slaughter, Brisbane underwent considerable change. In 1961, Brisbane was a city with no town planning, many unpaved streets, limited water supply and few areas with sewers—relying instead on

outhouse An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may also be use ...

s or septic tanks. Through the 1960s Jones successfully led the council to develop a town plan, seal roads, improve drainage and connect sewers to most of the city. The city council, under his stewardship, purchased city properties to build underground car parks, which were then topped with public parks and gardens. In the suburbs, land was acquired for open space and parkland. Work started on the development of the

Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha The Brisbane Botanic Gardens (formerly the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens and informally the Toowong Botanic Gardens) are located from the Brisbane CBD at the foot of Brisbane's tallest mountain, Mount Coot-tha in the suburb of Mount Coot- ...

. In 1968, to considerable public dismay, and some protest, Jones announced that Brisbane's extensive tramway routes would be replaced by diesel buses. In 1971, Jones chose to promote Brisbane as host city for the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...

. Without support from the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

and due to a lack of preparation, the bid was unsuccessful. Convinced of the benefits and suitability of Brisbane to host the event, Jones completed a winning bid in 1974 for the next games in 1982. By 1974, early graves at the South Brisbane and Toowong cemeteries had fallen into disrepair. The Brisbane City Council under Jones' stewardship, wished to convert portions within these cemeteries into parkland. Instructions were given by Jones to the health department to remove untidy graves, resulting in the destruction of at least 2,500 memorials. After completing his duties as Lord Mayor in 1975, Jones was briefly the curator at the Brisbane Cricket Ground (

the Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Ga ...

) and even prepared the wicket for a test match. Jones was also appointed chairman of the Darwin Reconstruction Commission in 1975 to guide the rebuilding of the city of Darwin after its near destruction by

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city i ...

. Jones stood for the Labor Party for the state seat of

Yeronga Yeronga is a southern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yeronga had a population of 6,535 people. Geography The suburb is bounded to the west and north by the Brisbane River and to the south-east by Ip ...

in 1972 and, at

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the h ...

's request, the federal seat of Griffith in 1974 – both unsuccessfully.'Clem the Magnificent', Labor legend, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 December 2007
He was involved in the opposition to the attempted federal takeover of the Queensland State Branch of the Party in the early 1980s, being one of several senior members of the Queensland branch to challenge the takeover in the courts. Briefly expelled for his involvement, he was later reinstated to the party and given life membership in recognition of his achievements in Brisbane. Jones was a delegate in 1998 to the

Australian Constitutional Convention In Australian history, the term Constitutional Convention refers to four distinct gatherings. 1891 convention The 1891 Constitutional Convention was held in Sydney in March 1891 to consider a draft Frame of Government for the proposed federatio ...

as the head of the Clem Jones Constitutional Republic Team. He favoured the republican model of government in which the head of state is directly elected rather than being chosen by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. Jones also established FoodBank Queensland in 1995, which helps to fund the school breakfast program.

Personal life

Jones was born in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

, Queensland in 1918. His father was a master at the

Anglican Church Grammar School The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in East Brisbane, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Q ...

East Brisbane, Queensland East Brisbane is an inner southern suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , East Brisbane had a population of 5,934 people. Geography East Brisbane is located south-east of the CBD. It is mostly residential, with some s ...

, where Jones was also a student. He displayed an interest in tennis and cricket. Jones went on to attend the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, taking a BSc in mathematics and geology. His wife, Sylvia, died in 1999. They had no children.

Honours

Clem Jones statue, Adelaide Street, Brisbane

*Officer (AO) of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

in 1976 * Queenslander of the Year in 1990 *Honorary doctorate from the University of Queensland (1996) *Australian Sports Medal in 2000 *Centenary Medal in 2001 *

Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame In 2009 State Library of Queensland, the Queensland Library Foundation and the QUT Business School The QUT Business School is one of six faculties at the Queensland University of Technology. It is home to the QUT Graduate School of Business, a ...

(2009)

In popular culture

*Prior to the redevelopment of the

Brisbane Cricket Ground The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the G ...

the

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap al ...

was known as the "Clem Jones Stand". *The nickname of former Australian cricketer

Terry Alderman Terence Michael Alderman (born 12 June 1956) is a former Australian international cricketer who played primarily as a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He began his first-class cricket career in 1974 with Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield ...

was "Clem", as Clem Jones was both an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...

and a cricket fan *The

Clem Jones Tunnel The M7 Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7), known during its development as the North-South Bypass Tunnel (NSBT), is a A$3.2 billion motorway grade toll road under the Brisbane River, between Woolloongabba and Bowen Hills in Brisbane, Queensland. ...

, more commonly known as the Clem 7, was named in his honor and opened in Brisbane in 2010. *The Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland was a beneficiary of the generous support of Clem Jones who made a significant donation to the Foundation in 2005 and as a result the Foundation named their latest Accommodation and Support Village at Coopers Plains in Brisbane in his honour. *Since his death his Estate and Foundation have funded medical research in his name including the Clem Jones Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research at UQ's Queensland Brain Institute, the Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research at Griffith University and the Clem Jones Research Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Bond University. A scholarship has been provided at the University of Queensland - the Clem and Ted Jones Memorial.

References

External links