Ron McLean

WHEN Ron McLean fell ill last month he was doing what he loved – cruising the world's oceans with his wife Judy.

Mr McLean loved the ocean, but a busy professional career spanning more than 50 years meant he did not have the time to take up this passion until much later in life.

Before then he had carved a career in management in newspapers. He rose through the ranks to become executive chairman of North Queensland Newspapers, a position he held when he retired in 1999 after 38 years in the newspaper business.

By then Mr McLean had also made his mark in the sporting world as the founding chairman of the North Queensland Cowboys.

At his funeral his wife Judy noted how he had five priorities in life: family and friends, work, travel, horse racing and sport. He managed to mix and match these priorities with flair, forming lifelong friendships and becoming a much admired and respected member of the north Queensland business world.

Mr McLean, nicknamed "Shorty", was born in Mount Isa on St Patrick's Day in 1936. He went to Townsville when he was a boy and finished his schooling at All Souls in Charters Towers.

Growing up in regional Queensland gave him a love of the bush, horses and racing.

He began work at Dalgetys in Townsville as a postage clerk and then an accounts clerk, before moving to the Townsville Timber Company as assistant accountant.

His long newspaper career started in 1961 when he joined the North Queensland Newspaper Company Limited. It was a privately owned company with a flagship title called The Townsville Daily Bulletin (now Townsville Bulletin).

Big changes were ahead, however. The company was acquired by News Limited, which transformed the way it did business and made the transition from hot metal to computerised production.

Mr McLean's calm and respectful management style did much to smooth this transition.

Despite the fact the company's owners were "down south" he never forgot the importance of keeping in touch with the other titles in the group, making regular trips to Charters Towers, Bowen, Innisfail and Cairns to talk to newspaper managers and staff.

This was a dynamic time for newspapers in the region, and he relished his role as both chairman of Regional Dailies Queensland and Regional Dailies Australia.

This personal touch was a hallmark of his career as he moved into the business of sport, working with business and political leaders such as former Townsville mayor Tony Mooney to seal the deal on a new football team for the north: North Queensland Cowboys.

The Cowboys took to the field in 1995 and, for this former Centrals player, seeing a team that could tap into the great talent in north Queensland was a dream come true.

Mr McLean attended almost every game they played and followed the team around the country, as well as to the UK.

In 2001 he received an Australian Sports Medal for his services to rugby league.

After retiring from newspapers in 1999, he was asked by then transport minister Steve Bredhauer to take up the position of chairman of the Townsville Port Authority.

The role suited him as it combined two of his loves, the sea and travel.

He was intensely interested in the potential for the port, and worked hard to forge key relations with China and South Africa. He retired from the role in 2007.

Sadly, ill health plagued his later life. Last year it prevented him from attending the Melbourne Cup for the first time in decades.

It did not, however, prevent him from cruising, and before he passed away he and Judy had enjoyed cruises to South America, South-East Asia and New Zealand.

It was on his final cruise that he suffered renal failure. He was transported by air ambulance from Bali to Townsville where he passed away, surrounded by family.

Mr McLean is survived by his wife of nearly 54 years, Judy (their anniversary was on October 6), his children Anne, Robert and Sandra, and grandchildren Kate, Daniel and Hamish.