Obituaries Australia

Fred [Frederick James] McCauley, a former prominent union leader from the days of Canberra's boom growth in the building industry and also a one time member of the ACT Advisory Council, died on Monday aged 90.

Mr McCauley had filled many roles in the building industry and he was remembered in particular by the Jennings Germans, a group of 150 single males who came to Canberra in the early 1950s to become the backbone of the young building industry.

Mr McCauley was the tough secretary of the Building Workers Industrial Union and the workers looked up to him for his fair dealing and straight talking.

He carved out an important place for himself in the industry, the community and in politics and he sat in the Advisory Council for four years and the Legislative Assembly for four.

Mr McCauley was born in Queanbeyan and spent his life in the area, beginning as a bricklayer at age 16. He worked on many of Canberra's early buildings, including St Christopher's Cathedral in Manuka, St Paul's Church and the Embassy of the United States of America.

He formed the Canberra Bricklayers Union before the war and became its first secretary.

When the bricklayers and the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners merged in 1946 to form the BWIU, he was made full-time industrial secretary.

Under his leadership, the union won a five-day, 40-hour week, paid sick leave, weekly hire, paid public holidays, full wet-weather pay and compassionate leave, and two weeks annual leave, then three and finally four. All reforms were years ahead of the other states.

He was behind building the Canberra Tradesmen's Union Club in Dickson in 1964, raising the funds single-handedly and was on the first board of management, staying for 20 years.

Other offices he held were as a member of the National Capital Development Commission's planning committee, on the Apprenticeship Week committee for 18 years, and the ACT Trades Advisory Committee and the ACT Apprenticeship Board for 26 years. He [was] ACT Trades and Labour Council president for 10 years, a Queanbeyan alderman from 1956 to 1962 and on the Queanbeyan Hospital Board for 25 years.

His wife, Leila, is deceased. He leaves his three children Patricia, Judith and Rodney and six grandchildren.

His funeral will be at St Christopher's Cathedral. Manuka, tomorrow at 10.30am.