After graduating with First Class Honours from Sydney University in 1951 Cliff McElroy worked at the Geological Survey of NSW for 12 years specialising in Regional and Coalfield Geology. During those years Cliff completed his M.Sc and his Ph.D on the Clarence-Moreton Basin. In early 1962, Cliff was appointed Lecturer in Stratigraphy in the School of Applied Geology at the Uni of NSW, and John Bryan (later to be a Director at MBGS) was one of his second-year students. The geology classes benefited from Cliff’s great knowledge of the Sydney Basin as he took students on field trips to interesting locations. On weekends Cliff would often spend time in the field with postgraduate students, or on field trips to places where he would undertake mapping for research projects. John Bryan, as a keen student, would accompany Cliff on some of these trips. One such trip included a visit to Grose Valley Colliery, a small underground mine operated by Austen and Butta.

In 1964, Cliff had an opportunity to join an expedition to Antarctica with Dr Bruce Hobbs, where he carried out mapping in the Beacon Heights area of the Dry Valleys. That experience enabled Cliff to put forward his own research proposal to the National Science Foundation (USA), which resulted in his second expedition to the “Great Southern Land” in 1966, where Toby Rose and John Bryan accompanied him.

After five years at Uni of NSW, in November 1967, Cliff was appointed the first Director of the Geological Survey of NSW. Prior to that time the Head of the Geological Survey had the title of “Government Geologist”. During the next 3 years Cliff reorganised the Geological Survey and set up a structure that still exists today.

In 1970, Cliff was encouraged to set up his own consulting company by Dick Austen (from Austen and Butta), who was in the process of expanding his coal mining activities. At the Geological Survey his place as Director was taken over by Toby Rose. At the Uni of NSW John Bryan had become the Stratigraphy Lecturer following Cliff’s move to the Geological Survey, and John Bryan joined Cliff at the consulting company in July 1970.

Dr Mac, as Cliff was fondly called by his colleagues at the Geological Survey and subsequently by his employees, formed Clifford McElroy and Associates (CMA) in early 1970 with Austen and Butta our first client (the company name was later changed to McElroy Bryan Geological Services (MBGS)). Cliff was a magnificent mentor, in particular to the junior geologists and we were all well drilled in coal measure geology, diamond core drilling, the importance of field mapping, stratigraphic relationships and accurate recording of field observations.

Dr Mac recognised early that environmental issues would play an important role in the future, so he undertook a MSc in Environmental Science. CMA carried out some of the state’s earliest Environmental Impact Statements before they were even called that.

Cliff retired from full time geological consulting in 1988 and pursued a very active and successful farming lifestyle and attending to his large family, in particular his numerous grandchildren, until he sadly passed away in 2006.