VALE SIR JOHN CARRICK AC KCMG

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has offered her heartfelt condolences to the family of Sir John Carrick AC KCMG, who has passed away.
 
“Sir John was an incredible Australian. He made an outstanding contribution to our country and NSW through the armed forces and politics,” Ms Berejiklian said.
 
In World War II, Sir John enlisted in the Second AIF and was deployed to West Timor in December 1941. He spent time at the notorious Changi prisoner of war camp, before being sent to the Burma-Thailand railway in early 1943.
 
He dedicated decades to the Liberal Party, beginning as a research officer in the NSW division in 1946. He was general secretary from 1948 to 1971.
 
“Sir John was a true giant of Liberal Party. He was a pioneer in grassroots politics in the Party’s early days, and in his later years a mentor to successive generations,” she said.
 
He served as a Senator for NSW from 1971 to 1987, and was Minister for Education and Minister for National Development and Energy in the Fraser Government.
 
After retiring from the Senate, he dedicated himself to various committees and advisory councils to improve education, including major reforms to the NSW education system in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
 
For his services to the Parliament of Australia, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1981. In 2008 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for his service to educational reform in Australia, including in early childhood education and the tertiary sector.