Dan Gleeson (politician)

Daniel Gleeson OBE ((1914-11-11)11 November 1914 - (1994-01-00)January 1994), a politician of North Queensland Australia, was the first Mayor of the Former City of Thuringowa.

Northern Cars and Tractors did not survive the Great Depression and Mr Gleeson worked in wood-cutting, labouring, cane-cutting and cooking in the Johnstone Shire and in Townsville and Thuringowa.

[1] Gleeson was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1984 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his "contribution to local government and his role in the field of water resource development in North Queensland".

[1] The then Labor Member for Thuringowa Ken McElligott has since stated, that a deal was done before the 1986 state election whereby Minister for Local Government Russ Hinze would declare Thuringowa a city in return for Gleeson (then shire chairman) who was running as an independent delivering his preferences to the National Party's Peter Arnold.

[6] His chairmanship and mayoralty of Thuringowa has been described as colourful but well-connected (within the State Government),[7] he has also been described as 'a political chameleon' for having been previously a member of the Labor Party.