THE LONG WIDE ROAD to 87 Recollections of Ben Meek OAM to My Beloved Wife and Family
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THE LONG WIDE ROAD TO 87 Recollections of Ben Meek OAM To my beloved wife and family 1 2 Contents Ideal Childhood in Fiji 4 The Record Flood of February 1931 10 Grandma’s Nerves 11 My Extended Family 17 Changing World Views 25 Teaching at Binnaway 31 The Commonwealth Public Service 34 A Fortunate Meeting 37 New Beginnings (and a Russian Spy) 41 Assassinated President and Princess Margaret’s baby 46 A New Job 51 Life in Papua New Guinea 54 Fighting the Department of Territories and Winning 60 A University Built On Lamington Drives 63 Kiama: An Ideal Place For Retirees 72 At Last Our Little Cottage In The Country 83 Looking after Wollongong’s Heritage 89 Return to Wollongong (and its corrupt City Council) 96 3 Ideal Childhood in Fiji Tuesday, April 12, 2016 Growing up in Fiji was unusual and happy for myself, born there on 11 December 1928, and my elder brother Mike (James Michael) born in Melbourne on 23 April 1927. Home was the Navuso Agricultural School established in 1924 by the Australian Methodist Church’s Overseas Missions with my Father as the Principal and for Mike and myself a 400 hectare playground. Before writing about our life, however, I need to write something about Methodism, because it was all around us, and somewhat all-pervading. I also need to briefly discuss my parents as their influence was of course equally pervading. Methodism First, Methodism. There were two features of Methodism that tended to distinguish it somewhat from other Christian denominations and indeed explained why there was a Navuso Agricultural School at all. One was that they were enthusiastically evangelical (“Go ye into the World and preach the Gospel to every creature” was their slogan). The other was a strong social conscience and a concern for the education, health and progress of the needy. They had long since converted the ‘heathen cannibals’ of Fiji to Methodism, but establishing a school to teach modern farming methods to young Fijians was a very practical demonstration of their social conscience. Another important aspect of Methodism was simple living. Indeed, it was puritanical. Dancing, gambling, alcohol and ostentatious living were completely banned. Smoking was condemned as extravagant. Sunday was designed mainly for attending church and/or Sunday School and any vigorous activity on Sunday was frowned on. Navuso Agricultural School Navuso Estate The school was an innovating and imaginative pioneering scheme for teaching young Fijians modern agricultural methods. There was some classroom teaching but it concentrated on highly practical training, even to the extent that in their final year the students each had their own plot on which they grew crops and made money. This gave them cash to buy equipment, seeds and plants when they returned to their villages. The cost of running the school were met by donations from Methodists in Australia and from 4 THE LONG WIDE ROAD TO 87 leasing out much of the rich river flats to Indian tenant farmers to grow sugar cane. As a result there was always varied activity around the place, cattle, pigs, horses ploughing, cutting sugar cane, etc. For Mike and me it was a 400 hectare playground with plenty to do, with amiable and caring young student Fijians everywhere keeping interested eyes on the Principal’s children. Beyond the farm was jungle – a threatening place for occasional supervised exploration. Morrisey Memorial Church, Dauvilevu (Methodist Mission Headquarters) built late 1910 Our parents both came from evangelical Methodist families. My Grandfather Meek, who had died in 1924, was a Methodist minister. My Grandfather Morrissey, who had died young in 1910, was a most generous supporter of missionary work, so much so that a church was built five kilometres down the river from Navuso as a memorial to him. Father with some students and the Suva Show cup for best agricultural exhibits (ca 1934) My Father was always cheerful and philosophical. He was very much an outdoors person. He was one of the early students at Hawkesbury Agricultural College (now part of Western Sydney University) and got a Diploma in Agriculture there in 1902 aged about 20. He then managed a butter factory at Orange, NSW, took up a farm at Hobbys Yards, and worked as what would now be called an extension officer for the NSW Department of Agriculture. His pioneering work setting up the Navuso School had a big impact in Fiji. From a 1951 newspaper report : “ … the majority of successful Fijian farmers and Agriculture Department men were trained at Navuso under B.C. Meek in the 20s and 30s. One only has to listen to village conversation to realise what Mr Meek’s 12 years of service here did for the Fijians.” I cannot remember him ever mentioning God or Jesus – Mike thought that he probably THE LONG WIDE ROAD TO 87 5 had a humanist, nature-loving belief and no interest in organised religion, but he was very generous and considerate of others and would never have upset anyone by questioning Methodist beliefs. Olive Meek (Mother) A kind and caring God and Jesus were central to my Mother, who took life seriously, and was very concerned to ensure that we grew up well-educated and Christian. This was tempered, however, with a great sense of humour, a love of music, literature, language and education, a keen interest in current affairs, and an absorbed interest in people – my Mother could find interest in even the most boring missionary lady. My cousin Anne, who understood her well, described her as “exemplifying humility and simplicity, wisdom and kindness”. She was also a very gifted teacher, first at the University High School, Melbourne, and then for eight years had run the only teacher-training centre in Fiji, the Methodist institution at Davuilevu, three miles down river from Navuso. My parents, being very honest and sincere people became disenchanted with organised religion, observing the behaviour of many of the clergy on the mission field, engaging in power plays, dishonesty, even in one case financial impropriety. I was of course not aware of this at the time, although I knew that my parents made a distinction between “mishes” (the clergy) and the teachers and medical missionaries doing socially useful work. I probably picked up some of their attitudes on this instinctively at the time, and this became clearer and important for me later. Benjamin Chapman Meek in front of the Mission House in Fiji 6 THE LONG WIDE ROAD TO 87 Returning to our lives at Navuso, our house, known as the Mission House, was rather basic. Three rooms in a row – parents, bedroom, dining room, and Mike’s bedroom; front verandah with part partitioned off for me; back verandah with Father’s office partitioned off and a swing for the children; a ramp down to the bathroom and separate kitchen. Always a bunch of bananas hanging by the tank for the hungry. The verandahs were well used as it rained most days – 3000mm a year (nearly three times Wollongong’s average.) There was no radio, television, running water or electricity and we were isolated on the opposite side of the broad Rewa River from roads, cars and shops, so we rarely met other children. Missionaries of course were not well paid, so life was simple and basic, but there were plenty of books, a wind-up gramophone with 78rpm records and of course always endless possibilities in the 400 hectare playground. We did not feel at all deprived. I think our Mother regarded simple and economical living as a proper part of Christian life; while our Father was always happy whatever the circumstances. The capital of Fiji, Suva, was only about 25 km away but getting there was a performance. The house had originally been down on the river flats but after just surviving the record flood of 1931 ( another story) it was moved on to a hill. So to get to Suva, first we walked half a kilometre down a muddy track to the river bank, often then having to change into clean dry clothes, then students rowed us across the huge Rewa River, about half a kilometre wide at that point; then a taxi down what is now called The Queen’s Road five kilometres to the town of Nausori. Here we got a vehicular punt back across the River, and then with no further obstacles on to Suva. “That one will be Mother’s baby and I’ll be Father’s” Mother with Mike and baby Ben Apparently from my birth there was always a closer relationship between my Father and Mike. Father’s recollections : When Ben was born, Mike had a look at him and said :- “That one will be Mother’s baby and I’ll be Father’s .” Thereafter he attached himself to me on every possible occasion, and when Ben was old enough he seemed to accept the edict. THE LONG WIDE ROAD TO 87 7 Father with Michael Mike obviously adored our Father and I became more attached to my Mother. This became more established when correspondence school lessons began. I took to them with enthusiasm. Mike, on the other hand, was very smart with a keen logical brain even then, but he was impossible to keep home for lessons as he preferred to follow our father and the students around the farm. The solution seemed to be to send him to Suva Grammar School and live in a hostel for isolated missionary children. The plan was not a success either at hostel or school. From Mother’s diary : Miss Watson ( kindly matron of the Hostel) : Michael, there are some things you do that I do not approve of.