Obituaries Australia

Jack Praed, n.d.

The late Councillor John Praed, Mayor of Eaglehawk (Bendigo) and secretary of the Bendigo branch of the A.M.A., was looked upon as one of the ablest men who have ever championed the cause of the working miners of Victoria and Tasmania. Just prior to his death he had returned from an unsuccessful attempt to settle the Mount Magnet strike in Tasmania. The Bendigo "Advertiser" says concerning him:—"The loss to the borough—and the A.M.A. in particular—by the death of Mr. John Praed is incalculable. In the borough he was identified with every branch or sport, of which he was always a generous patron and supporter, and any movement of a progressive character invariably found in him a staunch champion. He was a man who had endeared himself to all by his fine manly characteristics, his charity, and all the essential qualifications that go to make a gentleman. lt is quite safe to assert that no Mayor of the borough was ever more popular amongst all classes and sections of the community than the late Councillor Praed— 'Jack" Praed, as he was more familiarly called. In the A.M.A. he was one of the most respected and influential of members, and the vacancy caused by his lamentable demise will be hard to fill. During the recent Virginia strike his advice to the men was wise and restrained, and the exemplary behavior of the locked-out men on that occasion was almost soley due to the influence wielded by their late leader. During his 11 years as general secretary of the A.M.A. his actions were always governed by sound reasoning and commonsense, and his ideas were practicable and attainable. He had the respect of those who differed from his views, many of whom sympathised with him in the difficulties he had to contend with in his position."