Accolades flowed for Bob McDonald in Cloncurry on Thursday when nearly 160 people gathered to acknowledge his 40 years of service as a local government representative at a formal luncheon.
“Distinguished service”, “a lot of dedication”, and “advancing his community” were some of the compliments paid to Cr McDonald, who recently received a Medal of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day honours.
Daughter Adelaide told the gathering that between her father and grandfather, Jim, the McDonald family had been actively involved in the Cloncurry Shire Council for 63 years.
“Dad heading off to council meetings has just been part of life for us kids,” she said.
Local Government Association of Queensland CEO Greg Hallam travelled from Brisbane for the occasion and told the audience that only three people had served for 40 years or more in the history of the organisation.
“You didn’t go into local government for money or glory; it was all about advancing the community you lived in,” he said. “The fact that so many are here is testament to the man.”
One of Cr McDonald’s sisters, Angela, travelled from Florida in the US to attend, and all five McDonald siblings were present together.
“He took his service very seriously,” daughter Adelaide said. “It would be a very rare occasion for him to miss a meeting, or be late for one.”
Amongst the things she said he was able to achieve for the Cloncurry shire were a good working relationship with the mining community, which had delivered benefits such as water security via the Ernest Henry mine, and the new shire civic precinct.
Housed within it is the Bob McDonald library, which Adelaide described as an honour for the family.
Cloncurry mayor Andrew Daniels told the audience Bob had a passion for literature and the arts.
“Whenever opportunities for these were discussed in council meetings, Bob was very firm in his opinion to secure these opportunities for the community,” he said, explaining the tribute.
During the luncheon, Cr McDonald unveiled a pen-and-ink portrait in his likeness by Alice Finlay, which will be a permanent fixture in the library.
As well as thanking his extended family for supporting him throughout the years, Cr McDonald’s renowned sense of humour was to the fore when he recalled a number of light-hearted moments during his thank you speech.
One involved waking up a colleague during a post-lunch snooze, who proceeded to cast his vote in an unexpected way.
He listed both the pastoral industry and mineral wealth as playing strong roles in the Cloncurry shire.
“The major mines here allowed the shire to expand its rate base, and help build a number of assets,” he said.
“When I joined council, water was a major problem for council. This was revolutionised in later years.
“Trying to get people to live out here, and then screwing them down for water was ridiculous.”
Cr McDonald said he was extra pleased the shire saw fit to support the Flinders Medical Centre, “the envy of most in Australia”.
“Over the years I have seen the complete range of political views, but for the absence of the Greens.
“We were never split on party lines. Debate was often robust, but always civil.”
Another 40 people were expected for lunch but were rained in, another reason for the crowd to celebrate.