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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 366 ..
MR HIRD (5.06): I would like to draw to the notice of the parliament the sad death late last year of one of the Territory's pioneers, Mr Fred McCauley, aged 90. I do that because some members of this place may not be aware that Fred was one of the founding fathers of local government in the ACT. He was a member of the Territory's first Legislative Assembly for four years, from 1974 to 1978. He served in that Assembly with me and two other present members; namely, you, Mr Speaker, and Mr Kaine. Before that he sat on the Advisory Council for four years. Both of these organisations were the forerunners to, and their members did most of the groundwork in the acquisition of, the self-government which the Territory has today.
Fred was also a pioneer in the building industry and a unionist. Mr McCauley was a tradesman. He started his trade - his chosen profession of bricklaying - at the age of 16. Fred was born in Queanbeyan and spent all his life in this area. He was very dedicated to the Territory and to the region. He filled most roles in the ACT building industry, particularly in the early 1950s. He was the first full-time industrial secretary of the Building Workers Industrial Union and was president of the ACT Trades and Labour Council for 10 years.
Fred worked on many of Canberra's early buildings and was behind the building of one of Canberra's first licensed clubs, the Tradesmen's Union Club in Dickson. As a matter of fact, Mr Speaker, as you probably recall, Fred raised single-handedly the funds to build that club. It was built in 1964. He was a member of the first board, staying on that board for 20 years. Fred was also a member of the National Capital Development Commission's Planning Committee, the Apprenticeship Week Committee for 18 years, and the ACT Apprenticeship Board for 26 years. I would ask that this place recognise the contribution that the late Fred McCauley made to the development of this great city, the region and what Canberra is today.
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