THE Clarence has lost a well-known educator and community member with the passing of Gary Whale last week.

Mr Whale, was born in 1943 and became a teacher of English and history, first teaching at Woodenbong Central School.

Mr Whale then moved to Casino High School where he able to put an end to corporal punishment before moving to Maclean High School in 1987.

Retiring in 2000 as the head of the English/History department, he lived out his years in Yamba.

Mr Whale was an exceptional communicator and spread his love of the subject through the founding of the Inner Wheel public speaking competition for students at Maclean High School.

An active member of the teacher's federation he also kept busy in broader social issues.

An advocate of the peace movement, Mr Whale even stockpiled commemorative $1 coins minted in 1986 for the International Year Of Peace, giving one to each of his future 3 Unit English students.

Committed to reconciliation with indigenous Australians, he wrote the Wave Hill strike into the history syllabus at Woodenbong, and recently ordered extra copies of Bruce Pascoe's "Dark Emu" to read.

In his retirement, he continued with community work, including leading the U3A discussion group for more than ten years, giving him cause to read and research the latest in news and developments across the globe.

He was a committee member of the Port of Yamba Historical Society, ran in the informal bird watching group "Clarence Valley Birdos", while also supporting his wife's involvement with Landcare and the Uniting Church, while also helping to bring classical music to the Lower Clarence Music Club.

Mr Whale also said one of his proudest achievements of late was to be part of the Clarence Valley Council climate committee and seeing the council declare a climate emergency.

He will be remembered as someone committed to his students, and community, and loved living in a community where he could stay in contact with many of his students - despite whether they got on at school!.

And fitting for someone committed to the environment around him, one of his last outings was to attend the Climate Strike at Gosford on September 20, and still kept a close eye on the developments at the UN in the following days with interest.

He will be missed by the community, and survived by his wife Barbara, and children Jonathan and Caitlin.

The funeral will be held at the Maclean Anglican Church on Wednesday at 11am.