John Carrick

Sir John Leslie Carrick, (4 September 1918 – 18 May 2018) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and held senior ministerial office in the Fraser government, serving as Minister for Education (1975–1979) and Minister for National Development and Energy (1979–1983). He was also Leader of the Government in the Senate from 1978 to 1983.

Early life Carrick was born in Sydney in 1918, as the fourth of six children born to Emily (née Terry) and Arthur James Carrick. His father worked as a clerk in the Government Printing Office, but lost his job during the Great Depression. Carrick grew up in Woollahra, Randwick, and Bondi, and attended the local state schools. He eventually won a scholarship to the selective Sydney Technical High School. He worked for the Australian Gas Light Company after leaving school, while attending night classes in chemistry at Sydney Technical College. He eventually was admitted to the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Economics in 1941.

After previously serving in the Sydney University Regiment, Carrick joined the Australian Imperial Force in December 1940. He was posted to the 18th Anti-Tank Battery, which in December 1941 was deployed to West Timor as part of the Sparrow Force. After landing he was captured by the Japanese. Carrick was initially imprisoned on Java and later in Singapore's Changi prison camp. In 1943, he was sent to work on the Burma Railway, including at Hellfire Pass. He learned enough Malay and Japanese to act as an interpreter.

Political career

In January 1946, Carrick began working as a research officer for the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party. He was appointed general secretary of the Division in 1948, and would hold the position until 1971. The Bulletin dubbed him the "grey eminence of Ash Street", referring to the location of the party's headquarters. Along with the state president, Bill Spooner, Carrick toured New South Wales founding new branches and looking for prospective candidates. He published a book about liberalism in 1949 titled The Liberal Way of Progress. The Liberals were in power federally for virtually the duration of Carrick's tenure as general secretary, but did not win a state election until 1965, when Robert Askin was elected as premier.

Honours and awards In 1982, Carrick was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG), "for services to the Parliament of Australia". He was awarded honorary Doctor of Letters degrees by the University of Sydney (1988) and Macquarie University (2000), and, in 1994, he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Australian College of Educators.

He received the Centenary Medal in 2001, "for outstanding leadership and service to the Australian community, especially through education", and in 2008 was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), "for distinguished service in the area of educational reform in Australia, particularly through the advancement of early childhood education and to the development and support of new initiatives in the tertiary sector, and to the broader community". The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education was named after him in 2004. Carrick was widowed in February 2018, a few months before his own death. His wife served as chief commissioner of Girl Guides Australia from 1983 to 1988, and was an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

Carrick died on 18 May 2018 at the age of 99 in Sydney, some four months before what would have been his centenary. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and former prime ministers John Howard, Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott all issued condolence statements. Turnbull's statement described Carrick as "a lion of the Liberal Party, a soldier and a statesman whose passion for education improved the lives of many Australians", while Howard cited Carrick as a "close friend and political mentor" who "taught me more about politics than anyone else".