Tony Clausen
Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2019.
ANTHONY CLAUSEN (TONY) was born in 1943 into a boat building family in Port Adelaide, the only child of Harold and Alice Clausen. He spent his youth running around with cousins, sailing boats and helping out in the boat shed. He completed an apprenticeship as a Fitter and Turner and headed to Queensland to operate a dozer pulling scrub before moving to the Snowy Mountain Hydro Scheme driving heavy equipment mainly dozers and scrapers. Tony met and married Rhonda in Port Clinton in 1968 beginning an adventure which would span the next 47 years following the operator jobs to the Northern Territory, driving machinery in and around Katherine, the Three Ways and the Barkly in the Territory. It was here he applied for a Foreman position with Macmahon Construction and began work at Daly Waters. Tony ran the camps. He recalled "that would more often than not be more interesting than the construction itself". There were endless problems with water and power.
Tony was a hard but fair man who took his responsibilities seriously. He earned a fearsome reputation in the way he handled delinquent cooks, domestic squabbles and "endless problems" with engineers. He wore the khaki and yellow Macmahon colours with pride for 30 years. There is not much of the Stuart Highway that Tony has not somehow been involved in, whether it be new builds, resurfacing, pipelines, railways, consultation or bridges. In 1985 Tony and the family moved to Adelaide and he took on the role of Plant Manager for Macmahon Construction where was involved with the Port Lincoln Marina and provided the expertise for the preparation of the track for the inaugural Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Tony retired in 1999 to follow his passion of fishing, football and family. He always said he didn't need a lot of friends, just a handful of really good ones. Tony passed away on 27 August 2015 leaving behind his wife Rhonda, his two children and six grandchildren. He is remembered as a well respected icon of the road construction industry and at times, for being too honest and too stubborn but always a hardworking, loyal and fair man.