“All politics is local” was the aphorism made famous by Thomas Phillip “Tip” O’Neill, another son of the Irish diaspora who went on to become Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
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It’s a phrase that encapsulated the life and commitment of Max Hanrahan, OAM, 20 years a Bathurst councillor, the first ALP Mayor from 1980 to 1983 and a lifetime worker and fighter for his community in Bathurst and the Central West.
Mr Hanrahan died, aged 87, at home in Bathurst on November 7 surrounded by his huge Australian-Irish family.
He was awarded life membership of the Australian Labor Party, which he joined around 1968 and has been lauded in Labor circles, across the political spectrum and around the country in the wider community.
“Max was a good, loyal friend: a man of his word and a great citizen who worked tirelessly for most of his life to develop and bring prosperity to this the Central West,” said David Simmons, who was Member for Calare and a minister in the Hawke Government.
“He was a great and persuasive public speaker, he understood how the bureaucracy worked, he respected people who worked for him as mayor and in other jobs and he was himself respected across the political spectrum,” he said.
Max is a descendant of Patrick Hanrahan, a political convict sent from Ireland in 1802 who was pardoned because of his hard work on building the road over the Blue Mountains, then given a land grant near Oberon in around 1815.
Born in Bathurst 1931, Max grew up in Burraga, attending school there between 1938 and 1946. There followed a series of jobs in the timber industry, rabbit trapping and shearing sheep, all work that required great physical toughness.
His life changed when he married Frances Clark on April 2, 1956. A more reliable job was needed if he was to raise a family and that physical toughness landed him a job with the then Department of Corrective Services.
It was there that his thirst for further education and building mental toughness began with a number of in-service courses followed by a two year course at Bathurst Tech to gain a “Supervision Certificate Course” followed by a Bachelor of Business course, majoring in accounting, at the new Mitchell College.
His new qualifications landed him a job at the Bathurst Orange Development Corporation in 1974 and stayed until his retirement in 1986.
When he took the job he’d already been on Bathurst City Council for three years, becoming Deputy Mayor in 1978 and Mayor from 1981-83. He went on to become chairman of the Central Western Regional Development board as well as being a member of many other community and local political associations and organisations.
In 1988 Max was awarded an OAM for his contribution to local government. Doing justice to that contribution and his achievements would take up most of the newspaper but he was most proud of the Community Bus Service, the Bathurst Regional Action Committee and the orchestration of a royal visit to the city in 1982 – something he described as “most stressful”.
Outside of work and community service he loved his sport, playing cricket for the Bathurst Centrals, followed both codes of rugby, played squash and practiced Judo. His musical tastes tended towards the light classical and he had a great love for the works of A.B “Banjo” Paterson.
Like many old school politicians, he hated modern day politics, believing that money had corrupted the system.
On his retirement he said that no single issue drew him into politics. “I don’t think any politician comes to court with just one agenda. It’s got to be bigger than that,” he said.
The people of Bathurst and the Central West have all benefited from that fact that Max Hanrahan had a commitment that was indeed much bigger than any single issue. He knew that all politics was local and he dedicated his life to the service of his local community.
He leaves behind his wife Frances, eight children, 24 grand children and nine great grand children.