- Percy Clarey
Percy James Clarey (
20 January 1890 –17 May 1960 ) was anAustralia n trade union leader and politician.Early life
Clarey was born at
Bairnsdale, Victoria , the fifth child of general agent Francis William Clarey and Jessie Littlejohn, nee Lawson. The family soon moved to Melbourne, and Clarey attended South Yarra State School and the Working Men's College. In his youth, Clarey was crippled byrheumatoid arthritis , and walked with crutches for the rest of his life. Employed as a clerk, he was Victorian president of the Federated Clerks' Union of Australia by the time he was 24 and federal president at 27. He also served as federal president of both the Amalgamated Food Preservers' Union of Australia and the Federated Storemen and Packers' Union of Australia.Clarey married schoolteacher Catherine Mary Isabel Chambers at
Box Hill on31 March 1917 . They had two sons before their divorce in 1936. Catherine too was prominent in the labour movement, and was the Labor candidate for theVictorian Legislative Assembly seat of Caulfield in 1935, although she withdrew shortly before the poll.Clarey continued to rise in the union movement, being president of the Victorian branch of the
Australian Labor Party in 1934 and president of the Melbourne Trades Hall Council in 1935. DuringWorld War II , he was on the board of the Department of Munitions and the Manpower Priorities Board, as well as being a delegate to the 1944International Labour Conference .tate politics
In 1937, Clarey was elected to the
Victorian Legislative Council , a position he held until 1949. He was minister of labour and public health during 1943 and minister of labour and employment from 1945-47 under the premiership of John Cain. He was criticised for holding the positions of labour minister and President of theAustralian Council of Trade Unions simultaneously. He married divorcee Florence Midiam Cater, nee Knowles, on21 August 1948 .As ACTU president, Clarey formed a partnership with his eventual successor, secretary
Albert Monk , and resisted the various attempts by theCommunist Party of Australia to gain control of the trade unions. He conceded that the Communist Party had a right to resist, but was strenuously opposed to communism in the ALP.Federal politics
In 1949, Clarey transferred to the federal House of Representatives, winning the seat of Bendigo by only 152 votes. He was defeated for the deputy leadership in 1951 by
Arthur Calwell , and was mentioned as a possible successor to the troubledH.V. Evatt as parliamentary leader. Although associated with the right wing of the ALP, Clarey always kept to the party line. Notably, he was a friend ofRobert Menzies .Clarey was accused of being a "bosses' man" and a "strike breaker" by union opponents, but was a supporter of the
Indonesia ns against Dutchcolonialism . Additionally, although he supported theWhite Australia Policy , he held the term to be offensive and advocated its removal from the ALP platform.In 1954 Clarey was sent to
New York asAustralia 's delegate to theUnited Nations General Assembly , and visitedChina in 1957. He died on17 May 1960 atOakleigh, Victoria , and was survived by the sons of his first marriage. He was given astate funeral before being cremated withMethodist forms. His brother,Reynold Clarey , was the member for Melbourne in theVictorian Legislative Assembly from 1955-72.References
*Australian Dictionary of Biography|last=Lloyd |first=C.J. |authorlink=|year=1993|id=A130473b.htm|title= Clarey, Percy James (1890 - 1960) |accessdate=2008-03-15
Persondata
NAME=Clarey, Percy James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australia n politician
DATE OF BIRTH=20 January 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH=Bairnsdale, Victoria
DATE OF DEATH=17 May 1960
PLACE OF DEATH=Oakleigh, Victoria
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