Family background
Clarence Joseph Emblem was born in 1886, son of William Emblem and Catherine. In 1907 he married Mary Ellen McMahon at Sydney. He died at 2 Allen Street Glebe on 15 June 1961, aged 75 years. Mary Emblem died on 24 March 1968, aged 78 years.
Occupation & interests
Emblem was employed by the Sydney City Council where he worked as a service marker.
Community activity
Clarrie Emblem and other Glebe aldermen, except Bill Beasley, had been, at some stage, disciples of Jack Lang. But in reality there was little difference of ideology between Official Labor and Lang Labor – both were explicitly anti-Communist, socially conservative, strongly Catholic, and with strong links to the union movement. Emblem with other aldermen visited the office of Frank Howell, secretary of the NSW Trotting Club in May 1934 regarding a municipal road. In court proceedings Emblem denied he had been involved in any corrupt proposal at the meeting.
Local government service
Clarence Emblem, elected to the first Labor Council in December was re-elected at five Glebe municipal elections extending to 31 May 1939 when the council was removed from office. Only two aldermen from the dismissed Glebe Council, McCormack and Emblem were elected in 1941, both as Official (McKell) candidates.
References
Hogan, Michael 2004, Local labor: a history of the Labor Party in Glebe, 1891-2003, Federation Press, Annandale, NSW
Sydney Morning Herald 7 December 1925 p. 12
Sydney Morning Herald 27 June 1935 p. 10
The Canberra Times 28 June 1935 p. 1
Sydney Morning Herald 16 June 1961 p. 22