He was born in Creswick on 10 March 1926 but lived all his life at Clunes. He attended the Clunes Elementary School and later Maryborough Tech, which he would sometimes wag, jumping off the train at Talbot to go rabbiting. On other occasions he would miss school to assist his dad, a drover, to take sheep to the Ballarat market. Jack would walk with the sheep while his father drove the horse and dray and they would both then sleep under the dray before returning the following day.  

Jack left school at age 14 to work at the Interknit hosiery and Boot Factory in Clunes and with the outbreak of World War II he joined the army, fudging his age to do so. However, someone dobbed him in and he was discharged. 

He then worked at various jobs in the district as a farmhand, shearers’ cook and rouseabout until he was old enough to legally join up and this time it was into the air force. He trained in South Australia but the war ended before he was posted overseas. He returned to Clunes and met Jean and they married in 1950.

These were hard years for the young family as Jean became ill with tuberculosis. By this time, Jack was working as a linesman with the PMG. Eventually Jean recovered and family life resumed. Jack continued his work later becoming an estimator until his retirement in the mid 80s. He was active in his union, the Australian Labor Party and in the Clunes community where he played tennis, bowls and golf. He was also a committee member of the primary school, the museum, the swimming club and the football club where he was a trainer for many years being named as one of the two trainers in the Clunes football team of the century. He was involved with the RSL for decades and became a legatee. 

Jack Higgins is survived by Jean his wife of nearly 66 years and his three sons Neil, Bill and Tony.

Submitted by Jeremy Harper on behalf of the ALP Creswick-Clunes branch.