JOHN WARBY A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
- Lynne Lloyd
- Jun 18
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 20
It is said that to really know someone, you have to live with them. Maybe. Another way is to edit a book written by them about their lives. I have recently had that privilege, getting to know John Warby, a man for all seasons. He was a front-line soldier serving his country with distinction in various theatres of war across the full span of WW2. He was a devoted husband and father of six children, the captain of a pearling lugger, an entrepreneur, a missionary, an ordained Anglican priest, a writer and, not least, a staunch supporter and advocate of Aboriginal rights and reconciliation.
In his working life, John Warby was a pathfinder and innovator as the missionary leader of the Lockhart River Mission over a period of nine years in the 1950s. In his private life, he was the loving husband and father of a cherished (also rather long-suffering) family. I say long-suffering because of the many hardships and dangers of living in a remote community, including wild weather like cyclones, ship wrecks, medical emergencies, broken equipment and encountering dangerous reptiles like crocodiles and taipans in your backyard.
The long absences of the children at boarding school were particularly wrenching on them all. Just imagine only having all the family together a couple of times a year.
It is no exaggeration to say the Aboriginal people at Lockhart River Mission saw John as a kind of saviour. They said of him – ‘im ‘nutha kinda fella – by which they meant he was a cut above the general run of men. They saw the stuff he was made of and responded in kind. He was a can-do type of bloke, working alongside them and leading by example. Whenever possible, however, John stepped back and encouraged the people to take control of and run their own enterprises.
John pioneered many positive changes and improvements for the Aboriginal people in their living conditions and created employment in industries like cattle grazing and trochus shell harvesting. One of the most notable achievements was the creation of the first Aboriginal Christian Cooperative in Australia.
Another incredible feat was the building of their first church. They completed it in only six weeks, a communal effort by all able-bodied members of the community, including the children. Amidst great rejoicing, St James Anglican Church Lockhart River opened for worship on St James’ Day, the 25th July 1953.
At the Mission, John was the one person everyone turned to and he took on many tasks outside of his remit. He did so for the simple reason that he was asked to help someone. In one incident, a Torres Strait Islander young man, a shell-diver, was severely injured during a dive. They brought him into the medical clinic at Lockhart River Mission; it had no doctor, only a sole nursing sister.
John describes it thus:
“His leg was wrapped in a blood-soaked towel which, when cautiously unfolded, revealed a gash, gaping an inch and a half wide, the length of his lower leg. Obviously, the twenty-year-old had lost much blood. I had gone to the hospital with the skipper while Sister Doris Brown was working on the leg.
‘Oh, dear God, John!’ said Doris, invoking her favourite phrase, “You know I do my best, dear God, but I could never handle that, John!”
She looked at me apologetically. “Could I ask you to sew it up, John? I will help you, of course!”
And so I did, remembering other wounded I had worked on in the War, sewing the wound with great single stitches to close it from the ankle upwards, each stitch being tied off as I proceeded.”
In another unusual medical incident, John relates how a middle-aged Aboriginal man with no obvious symptoms of illness was brought in to the medical clinic by his relatives. They were desperately worried because he refused to eat. When food was presented to him, he threw it against the wall, saying “Why Eat? Me die!”
They all tried to convince him to eat, and he would be alright. But he kept on saying, “Me goin’ to die!”
No one would speak openly about the cause, but it was likely a sorcerer or medicine man (probably from outside the community) had pointed the bone at this unfortunate man. Sure enough, he died.
John Warby, a man for all seasons, was a great Australian. In 1987, he was awarded Queenslander of the Year for services rendered not only to Aborigines and Islanders but also to ex-servicemen over many years and to the Church. On Australia Day 1998, he received the Order of Australia Medal for his service to the Aboriginal community, the Anglican Church and to ex-service organisations.
Many thanks to John’s daughter, Patty Beecham, for initiating this legacy project to revamp and republish John’s memoir “You-Me Mates Eh!” about ‘Warby-Time’ 1951-1960 at the Anglican Church’s Lockhart River Mission. The book is now available on Amazon in paperback and e-book editions. Check it out here.
Lynne Lloyd
editor and publisher
LLOYD MOSS PUBLISHING 0421 998749
For assistance in bringing your book to life, CONTACT LYNNE
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