James Robert McClelland (3 June 1915 – 16 January 1999) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge. He was a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) and served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

from 1971 to 1978. He briefly held ministerial office in the

Whitlam government The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 Australian federal elect ...

in 1975 as Minister for Manufacturing Industry and Minister for Labor and Immigration. He later served as the inaugural Chief Judge of the

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a court within the Australian court hierarchy established pursuant to the to hearing (law), hear environmental, development, building and planning disputes. The Court's jurisdiction, confined ...

from 1980 to 1985, as well as presiding over the 1984 McClelland Royal Commission into British nuclear tests in Australia.

Early life

McClelland was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

on 3 June 1915. He was the son of Florence Ruby (née O'Connor) and Robert William McClelland. His father, of

Ulster Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to: * Ulster Scots people * Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect (whose proponents assert is a dialect of Scots language, Scots) spoken in parts ...

descent, was a painter, paperhanger and signwriter with the

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

. McClelland spent his early years in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris. In 1925 his father was transferred to

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

, where he attended

St Patrick's College, Ballarat St Patrick's College, sometimes referred to as St Pat's, Paddy's or SPC, is an independent Catholic secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in central Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The school was founded by the Congregation of Chr ...

. He completed his secondary education on a scholarship at St Kevin's College, Melbourne, where he was a classmate of B. A. Santamaria. McClelland's parents had a mixed marriage and he was raised in his mother's Catholic faith. He considered training for the priesthood, but abandoned Catholicism as a young adult. McClelland won a scholarship to attend the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

in 1932, but dropped out in 1934 and joined Victorian Railways as a clerk. He later re-enrolled as a part-time student and graduated

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1936. In 1940, McClelland began working as a labourer with

Australian Iron & Steel Australian Iron & Steel was an Australian iron and steel manufacturer. History Public company (1928-1935) Australian Iron & Steel (AI&S) was established in 1928 to take over the business of Hoskins Iron & Steel. That company had already comme ...

. Identifying as a

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

, he joined the Communist-dominated Federated Ironworkers' Association (FIA) and came under the influence of union leader Laurie Short and Marxist scholar Guido Baracchi. He later worked for ARC Engineering Company and was a

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a trades/labour union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the un ...

, but in 1942 was expelled from the FIA for engaging in disruptive activities and terminated from his employment for "anti-war deviationism". His expulsion from the union was reportedly orchestrated by his rival Ernie Thornton. In 1943, McClelland joined the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF). He served as a

leading aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is an enlisted rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Leading air ...

with radar units in Australia and was also stationed in New Guinea from 1945 to 1946. After the war's end he settled in Sydney, briefly running a beachside café in Manly. He subsequently enrolled to study law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

under the

Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme (CRTS) was an Australian government scheme started during World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is rese ...

, graduating

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1950. He was admitted to practise law in New South Wales in 1951 and established the firm of Boyland, McClelland and Company. Within a few years he had a "lucrative practice in industrial compensation law". He also represented Short from 1950 to 1952 in his successful attempts to remove the leadership of the FIA, briefing barrister and future governor-general John Kerr.

Early political involvement

McClelland joined the Glen Iris branch of the

(ALP) in 1941 and joined the

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

branch after moving to Sydney. By the mid-1950s he had abandoned Trotskyism and was approached to join the anti-communist Democratic Labor Party, ultimately letting his ALP membership lapse. In the early 1960s, McClelland joined the ALP's

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

branch. He first stood for parliament at the 1966 election, running unsuccessfully in the safe Liberal seat of

Warringah Warringah ( ) is a name taken from the local Aboriginal word for Middle Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It may refer to: * Division of Warringah, an electoral division of the Australian House of Representatives created in 1922 * E ...

Senate

McClelland was elected to represent

for the ALP in the 1970 Senate election, his term to begin on 1 July 1971. In March 1971 he was appointed to a

casual vacancy ''The Casual Vacancy'' is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling, published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling's first publication since the ''Harry Potter'' series, her first novel apart fr ...

for the remainder of the term of the late senator James Ormonde. He was again elected in the

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolutio ...

election of May 1974. In the Third Whitlam Ministry he was Minister for Manufacturing Industry from 10 February to 6 June 1975. From 6 June to 11 November 1975 he was Minister for Labor and Immigration and Minister assisting the Prime Minister in matters relating to the Public Service. He was again elected at the December 1975 double dissolution election. According to an article by C. J. Coventry, McClelland had been an informer for the U.S..Coventry, C. J., "The Eloquence of Robert J Hawke: United States informer, 1973-79,"

Australian Journal of Politics and History The ''Australian Journal of Politics and History (''AJPH) is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles about history, political studies, and international affairs, concentrating on Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-P ...

, 67:1 (2021), 85. He resigned from the Senate on 21 July 1978.

Later life

In 1980 McClelland was appointed the first chief judge of the Land and Environment Court of NSW, holding that office until his 70th birthday in June 1985. In 1984, as Justice McClelland, he was President of the Royal Commission into British nuclear tests in Australia at

Maralinga Maralinga is a desert area around large located in the west of South Australia, within the Great Victoria Desert. The area is best known for being the location of several British nuclear tests in the 1950s. In January 1985, in recognition of ...

. He was reviled by the right as is indicated in Roddy Meagher's portrait in '' Quadrant'', and associated with

Edmund Campion Edmund Campion, SJ (25 January 15401 December 1581) was an English Jesuit priest and martyr. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Anglican England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason, he was ...

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was an Australian novelist and playwright who explored themes of religious experience, personal identity and the conflict between visionary individuals and a materialistic, co ...

Manning Clark Charles Manning Hope Clark, (3 March 1915 – 23 May 1991) was an Australian historian and the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume ''A History of Australia'', published between 1962 and 1987. He has been descri ...

and

Donald Horne Donald Richmond Horne (26 December 1921 – 8 September 2005) was an Australian journalist, writer, social critic, and academic who became one of Australia's best known public intellectuals, from the 1960s until his death. Horne was a proli ...

Personal life

In 1947, McClelland married Nora Fitzer, a Harbin Russian of Jewish descent. The couple adopted two children together, one of whom predeceased him. They divorced in 1968 and in the same year he remarried to Freda Watson, who had three young children from a previous marriage. They settled in

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to ...

where they were friends of author

. McClelland was widowed in 1976 and in 1978 married writer Gillian Appleton. McClelland retired to

Wentworth Falls Wentworth Falls (Postcodes in Australia, postcode: 2782) is a town in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, situated approximately west of the Sydney central business district, and about east of Katoo ...

in the Blue Mountains. He died at his home on 16 January 1999, aged 83.

Notes

References

Bibliography

''Portraits: Jim McClelland''
'' Quadrant'', June 2005 – 49:6 ccessed 4 March 2006*James McClelland, (1988), ''Stirring the Possum: A Political Autobiography'', Penguin, Sydney *James McClelland, (1989), ''An Angel Bit The Bride'' Penguin *Gillian Appleton, (2000), ''Diamond Cuts: An Affectionate Memoir of Jim McClelland'' Macmillan

External links

From the State Memorial Service for Jim McClelland
at The Whitlam Institute website {{DEFAULTSORT:McClelland, Jim 1915 births 1999 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia 1975 Australian constitutional crisis Australian royal commissioners Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Members of the Cabinet of Australia People educated at St Kevin's College, Melbourne 20th-century Australian lawyers 20th-century Australian politicians People educated at St Patrick's College, Ballarat Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II