Vale March 1986

by president · 20/03/1986

Ethel STEEPLES (2 November 1986)

Widow of Ernest, ex Police Inspector, who retired in 1954.

Bertram BARNARD (1 November 1986)

Telecom Technical Officer 2, retired in 1973. He leaves widow in Nottinghamshire, UK.

Charles MacDONALD (4 January 1986)

Education Officer who retired in 1968. He leaves a widow in Ipswich.

Charles FOX (22 August 1986)

Chief Draftsman, Lands, who retired 1947 and joined the Commonwealth Public Service. He leaves a widow in Melbourne.

May TOWNSEND (29 November 1985)

Widow of G.L. (Kassa) Townsend, pre-war District Officer and Lt-Col. in ANGAU.

Naomi PORTER (2 February 1986)

Widow of Eric Porter (Customs) who retired in 1935 and died 1977.

Hazel BAYLEY (21 December 1985)

Wife of S.V. Bayley, PHD Rabaul and Lae 1929-1950.

Thomas (Tom) JACKSON (8 January 1986)

Born in April 1924, Tom was educated at Dowlands College in Toowoomba before he joined the RAAF at 18 and served as a Navigator Pilot Officer on Sunderlands. After getting his Surveyor’s degree in 1950 he practiced in Queensland and Western Australia until 1958. In 1959 he went to work for Lands in the Highlands at Goroka for four years, then Madang for two years and then Port Moresby until his retirement in 1975.

Although he acted as Surveyor-General for part of this time, it is his work in the Public Service Association for which Tom is more remembered. An active member and officer for 15 years, he was President of the PSA from 1970 to 1973, and then President of the Australian Staffing Assistance Association, which the expatriates of the Public Service had to form, a period which was vital to every serving officer in the lead up to Independence.

Tom hit the headlines when, the only expatriate, he led the protest march of local Officers seeking better conditions and housing. Then he turned to the major issue of the uncertainty about the future of permanent overseas officers.

Canberra had little or no understanding of the urgency of the situation and, realising that the contest would be won in Australia, Tom and the PSA engaged a public relations firm, and through press conferences, TV appearances and personal contact with top Parliamentarians and officials, the Employment Security Scheme was successfully launched. To quote a close associate “Tom worked tirelessly for the PSA. I am convinced that his astuteness, perception and professional approach determined the result of (the struggle for) the Employment Security Scheme.”

Tom leaves a widow, Debbie, three sons and a daughter.

Alan DONALDSON (5 January 1986)

Mechanical Equipment Inspector, DASF Mekeo, Madang and Lae.

Arthur RACKAMAN (January 1986)

Died in car accident in Queensland. Former Superintendent of Police in Rabaul, Wau and Moresby.

Frank GREEN (27 February 1986)

Medical Assistant at Kandrian, Gasmata, Malahang and other stations, including Vulcan Island when the eruption came.