[2] Stirling worked as a moulder before joining the Royal Australian Navy in 1946.

He served as an Able Seaman aboard HMAS Warramunga during the Korean War, reached the rank of Petty Officer, then completed his service in 1958.

[3] Stirling's political activity led to a career as a unionist, becoming an official of the Federated Storemen and Packers Union.

He was a member of the Australia-USSR Friendship Society as well as the Congress for International Cooperation and Disarmament.

[3] He retired in August 1988, a month before John Cain II's narrow re-election to a third term.