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Michael (Mick) McNamara (1939–1991)

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McNamara, Michael (Mick) (1939-1991) labourer and trade union official 

Birth: 1939 at Ultimo, Sydney, New South Wales, son of Andrew McNamara and Elizabeth, née Gallagher. Marriage: 1959 at Sydney to Elaine Ruth Bell. They had three sons. Death: 13 October 1991 in his residence at Tuscan place, Casula, Sydney. Religion: Catholic. 

  • Became a pick and shovel labourer in the building industry in Sydney about 1954.
  • Elected delegate, NSW branch of the Builders Labourers’ Federation, about 1955. Became federal councillor of the BLF.
  • Elected secretary of the BLF in 1961, reputedly the State’s youngest union secretary. Held office until 1968, when he resigned due to ill-health and was replaced by Jack Mundey.
  • During his secretaryship he worked for the amalgamation of building unions.
  • Vice-president of the Building Trades Group. Delegate to NSW Labor Council. Supported Mundey in the Green Ban period.
  • Cause of death: anurial/renal failure (5 days), motor neurone disease and Korsakoffs psychosis.

Sources
Sydney Morning Herald, 14 October 1991 p 8; Builders’ Labourer, February/March 1968, p 3; Paul True, Tales of the BLF: rolling the right! (Parramatta [1995].

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Citation details

'McNamara, Michael (Mick) (1939–1991)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/mcnamara-michael-mick-34431/text43219, accessed 13 October 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1939
Ultimo, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Death

13 October, 1991 (aged ~ 52)
Casula, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

motor-neurone disease

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.

Occupation
Key Organisations