Tributes have arrived from across the political spectrum for the Branxton family man and golf fanatic, who followed his father into the mines in 1969 and who rose through the ranks of the union to be elected full-time district vice-president in 1988, before taking over the presidency in 1991 and holding it for 12 years until he retired in 2003.

Robin Williams, the union's new district president after Peter Jordan retired, said Watson led some of its biggest industrial battles.

"We will never forget Mick's dedicated service to working people in our District. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends," Williams said yesterday.

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The early 1990s were hard years for coal and Watson led the Survival '92 campaign, captured above by Newcastle Herald cartoonist Peter Lewis.

He led the union's long-running Cumnock campaign, over the sale of Liddell State mine - the first in NSW to be privatised - and rebranded as Cumnock colliery.

Watson's biggest battle was the Rio Tinto dispute - a titanic struggle played out at Hunter Valley No1 and Mount Thorley open-cuts in the late 1990s as the mining giant, egged on by the then-new Howard government and its strident industrial relations minister Peter Reith - went all-out to smash the union.

Allan Davies, who ran Hunter Valley No1 for Rio, had worked for Watson in his previous role running United Colliery, half-owned at the time by the union.

Yesterday, Davies remembered Watson balancing the conflicts of "an unenviable role" at United with "considerable skill and diligence", and "we became good friends".

Their friendship "naturally" waned during the Hunter Valley dispute, but he was saddened to hear of his passing.

Watson was instrumental in establishing United Mining Support Services or UMSS, which was established to provide work for injured and cavilled out miners and to fund scholarships for the children of mineworkers.

He helped cement links - including weekly wage deductions - to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, which CEO Richard Jones remembered yesterday.

Active in the ALP, he kept his local member on his toes. Joel Fitzgibbon acknowledged this yesterday, saying he had "enormous respect for him" despite their "share of disagreements".

Away from work, Watson's great loves were his family and golf. He lived his whole life in Branxton, and established the Branxton Pro-Am.

He and Melita, childhood sweethearts, married in 1969.

They had three daughters, Peree, Lisa and Renae, who gave their parents three grandchildren each, while golfing son Brent works at the Crowne Plaza course.

The family said Watson wanted to hang on to see the Morrison government out of office, but it was not to be.

His funeral is at St Brigid's at Branxton on Wednesday at 2pm.

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