Joe Clark

Who was Joe Clark?

Joseph "Joe" James Clark, CBE was an Australian Labor Party politician, serving in the Australian House of Representatives as the Member for Darling from 15 September 1934 to 29 September 1969, a term of 35 years, 14 days making him one of the longest-serving members of the House of Representatives.

Clark was born at Coonamble, New South Wales. His father was Joseph Alfred Clark, a New South Wales state MLA and tailor from Dubbo. Clark was educated at Holy Cross College at Ryde.

Prior to his parliamentary career, Joe Clark also operated as a tailor at Coonamble and later at Dover Heights in Sydney. He went on to serve as an alderman Coonamble Council for nine years, including three terms as Mayor of Coonamble. He was president of the Coonamble branch of the Australian Labor Party and was president of the Castlereagh Electorate council. He was closely associated with the N.S.W. State Labor Group under the leadership of Jack Beasley.

Clark sat on a number of industry committees and bodies, including the Australian Meat Industry Commission from 1942 to 1943, the Federal Meat Advisory Committee from 1943 to 1946, and in 1946 he led a delegation to the Iron and Steel Committee. He was Chairman of Committees and Deputy Speaker in the House from 1946 to 1949.