Angus ‘Gus’ Smales Farewell
A note to advise that Angus ‘Gus’ Smales MBE, IMPNG, veteran journalist (PNG/Aust.) has passed away on 10 July 2017, aged 86 years.
Gus was the dearly loved husband of Betty (deceased 2015) and much loved father of Peter and Sue. Friends and colleagues are invited to join family at a service to celebrate his life at Tobin Brothers, 604 Esplanade, Mount Martha VIC 3934, Australia on Thursday 20th July, 2017 at 2.00 PM. A private cremation will follow. Further details contact +61 (0) 3 9787 2577.
In 1954 Gus moved to Rabaul, then capital of the Territory of New Guinea, to take his chances as an independent freelance journalist and radio news broadcaster. Culturally attuned and quickly earning a reputation as a clever writer and articulate broadcaster with a social conscience, sharp wit and powerful sense of humour, Gus was rewarded editorial control in 1957 of the Rabaul Times, at the same time free to continue his freelance reporting and broadcasting activity across the Pacific, UK/Europe and North America. Amidst heightened local, Australian and international debate about the independent future of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, Gus was provided more privileged access to and direct involvement in the political adjudication process. His commitment to honest but empathetic and ethical reporting earned the respect of his journalist peers, foreign dignitaries and the local political elite. This motivated Australia’s Herald and Weekly Times newspaper to ask Gus in 1966 to move to Port Moresby for easier and more intimate interaction with the country’s political leaders and legislators. This proved an astute move, his work during his time in the Capital rewarding Gus with a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) and a Papua New Guinea Independence Medal (PNGIM) in recognition by the country and its leaders of his services. Fifteen years later, in 1981, Papua New Guinea by then six-years an independent Commonwealth realm, Gus left Port Moresby to take editorial control in Sydney of Pacific Islands Monthly magazine.
