Qld: Jones remembered for 'ousting the outhouse'

AAP General News (Australia)
12-19-2007
Qld: Jones remembered for 'ousting the outhouse'

By Roberta Mancuso

BRISBANE, Dec 19 - Former Brisbane lord mayor Clem Jones has been remembered at his
state funeral as a leader who "proudly ousted the outhouse" and as a "giant among men".

Dr Jones, once known as "Mr Brisbane", died from pneumonia at Brisbane's Wesley Hospital
on Saturday after a long bout of ill-health.

The 89-year-old led the city from 1961 to 1975 to become Brisbane's longest-serving
mayor, and has been credited with transforming Brisbane into a modern city.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, Queensland Governor Quentin
Bryce and Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman were among dignitaries who attended his
state funeral at Brisbane's City Hall today.

Mr Rudd described Dr Jones, who also helped rebuild Darwin after Cyclone Tracy, as
a "giant among men".

"Brisbane is his monument, Darwin is his monument, the Labor Party is his monument,
but most importantly, the lives of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people ... are his
living monument," Mr Rudd told the gathering.

Mr Rudd, a close friend of Dr Jones, recalled how he once found the former lord mayor,
dressed in black tie during a fundraiser for a sports centre, shovelling a drainage trench
in pouring rain.

"I said `Clem, what on earth are you doing?'," Mr Rudd said.

"He said `Kevvie, if we allow the ladies' shoes to get ruined, they won't come next year.

"And then he handed me the shovel and said:`Hop to it lad'.

"That was vintage Clem."

Mr Rudd said Dr Jones cared more for his community and country more than he cared for himself.

He shared his wealth with charities and Mr Rudd described the former mayor as a "great
humanist practitioner".

He also described him as part of the "heart and soul" of the ALP, which he joined in 1936.

"As lord mayor of Brisbane Clem was a beacon of hope ... a symbol of what Labor in
government could do for working people," Mr Rudd said.

"I salute the life of this great man, Clem Jones."

Ms Bligh said Dr Jones was the former Brisbane lord mayor who "proudly ousted the outhouse"

- a reference to the city's former back yard dunnies.

"He was a man who loved this city and the people in it," Ms Bligh said.

"Clem transformed Brisbane from a conservative country town to the vibrant, cosmopolitan
capital city that we know today.

"He saw to it that our roads were sealed, footpaths were laid, sports fields and community
facilities were established and of course, sewers connected.

"Clem was the lord mayor who proudly ousted the outhouse."

Ms Bligh hailed Dr Jones as a visionary leader who had made many bold and controversial
calls, including removing Brisbane's tram system overnight.

The greatest change Dr Jones made was to individual lives through his generosity and
genuine concern for people, she said.

"Clem bought houses for leukemia sufferers, he funded sporting teams and an annual
carnival for children.

"Clem fed the hungry and he gave generously to medical research. His tireless civic
service continued long after he left politics.

"It's not too much, I think, to say throughout the years millions of people have been
helped back on their feet, comforted, encouraged and shown respect and given hope by one
man - our Clem."

Ms Bligh extended her condolences to Dr Jones' family and friends.

"I salute the father of modern Brisbane, the remarkable, the incomparable Clem Jones,
an extraordinary Queenslander and an extraordinary man."

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