Fiona Scott (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly I would like to thank the member for Chifley for his moving words on a Penrith icon. I would also like to acknowledge the presence in the chamber today of the member for McMahon and the member for Blaxland. Ron Mulock in fact opened St Clair, which is in the member for McMahon's electorate.

I rise today to pay my respects to the life of Ronald Joseph Mulock, a man blessed with passion, purpose and integrity. But, Ron, you were so much more: a husband, a son, a brother, a father, a lawyer, a mayor, a minister, a deputy premier, a visionary, a mentor, a friend. For me, you were our region's senior statesman, our elder and our community's patriarch. Ron, you join a long legacy of some our most esteemed leaders who have played pivotal roles in shaping so much of our region of Western Sydney, from Yarramundi to Macquarie, Chifley, Henry Parkes and Sir John Jamison, and the families of Cox, Woodriff, Smith, King, Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth. Our community will be forever indebted to all these wonderful pioneering leaders. They shaped our region, our home—this special place with a beating heart and a deep soul, now emerging as an economic powerhouse.

Ron, I believe you saw the light on the hill. Perhaps the sun setting behind our sapphire misted mountain served as a constant reminder to you. Like you, Ron, I am honoured and blessed to represent such a remarkable region, with its inspiring traditions and unique character. I, like so many before me, stand here today, in this place, part of the legacy that you personally helped create. Ron had many endearing virtues—honesty, integrity, loyalty and respect for his fellow man. In every sense of the word, he was a thorough gentleman. Ron's life story is one of adversity, success and delivery. Born on 11 January 1930 at the height of the Great Depression in St Margaret's Hospital, Darlinghurst, and baptised a Catholic on that same day, he never knew his mother or the identity of his father. But his stars forever changed when Elizabeth Mulock fostered a 10-month-old baby and officially adopted him at 14. The young family saw much hardship, and I believe these experiences instilled in Ron a passion and commitment towards his own family.

Ron started school St Declan's in Penshurst, then went on to win a bursary to De La Salle College at Marrickville and subsequently won college and state bursaries. In 1949 Ron was employed by the Commonwealth department of immigration and began studying law part-time at Sydney University. In 1950 he became an articled clerk and was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court. Ron moved to Penrith to establish his own practice, opening the doors in 1957; he was later joined in partnership by Doug Timmins. During the mid-1960s he was elected to Penrith Council as an independent, finally joining his beloved Labor Party in 1968. He served as mayor of Penrith from 1968 to 1971. Later he joined parliament in 1971 as the member for Nepean, and tonight the member for Chifley covered much of his parliamentary achievements. In 1954 Ron and Desley Allen met and started to go out together. They were married on 11 May 1957. Together they created a long and happy life and a wonderful family with five children—Mark, Paul, Jane, Peter and John, and then nine grandchildren. Ron and Desley's relationship remained strong—always supporting, always loving—and together they weathered many testing times, supported by the love of friends, their family and their deep Christian convictions. Sadly they lost their younger child, Peter, who had been born with cerebral palsy, in 1981 at the age of only 16, and in 1999 their son, John, died of a rare lymphoma when aged only 38.

Ron had an intense love of sport. He was a cricket tragic and had a passion for our Penrith Panthers. You are right, member for Chifley—he would be very proud to see us in the preliminary finals. I am sure he will be there with the boys on Saturday night. Ron himself excelled in sport—in cricket, athletics and rugby league. He will be long remembered.

Ron, you were a good friend to so many. You were a true believer in the Labor movement right to your last breath. You were a devoted family man, a treasured son of Penrith. You are already missed, but you will never be forgotten.

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