Obituaries

Jack Hassen: Boxing Champ

He was a good trade unionist and a Lightweight Boxing Champion of Australia. Jack Hassen passed away in December.

He was a family man, married to wife Kate for 54 years, a father, grandfather and great grandfather.

Hundreds of Jack's friends (including many wharfies) crowded into the beautiful St. Andrews Church at Malabar to pay their final tributes to this great Australian sportsman.

Jack, born in Cloncurry in Queensland, had many jobs, according to a special full-page article in Sydney's Daily Mirror in February 1986. His first job was a messenger boy for a Cairns chemist.

It did not take Jack long to establish a reputation as a fighter above the ordinary with a lethal right hand punch. His early fighting skills were honed in the tough fights of Sharman's Tents. He then came under the promotion of Tom Nevins who got him nine fights around North Queensland.

Winning them all, six by knockout, Jack moved on to Brisbane where he soon added to his reputation by knocking out well-established fighters Bernie Grant, George Kapeen and Leo Barry.

These fights brought him under the notice of trainer Ern McQuillan and he was on his way to Sydney and the lightweight title.

After knocking out French fighter Andre Famechon, Jack suffered his first defeat when the brilliant Mexican Rudy Cruz outpointed him.

Five weeks later Jack met the Victorian Archie Kemp in a bout for the Australian Lightweight Title that had been vacant since Vic Patrick retired.

Kemp was recognised as a brilliant boxer and for eight rounds he outboxed Jack. However, in the ninth and tenth rounds Jack's heavy punching took its toll. In the eleventh round Jack's lethal punches had Archie Kemp in a hopeless condition and he appealed to Referee Joe Wallis to stop the fight.

Wallis told him to continue fighting. Jack punished Archie with heavy blows and he slipped to the canvass and lay motionless. Archie Kemp died the following morning from a cerebral haemorrhage in St Vincent's Hospital.

After the tragic death of Archie Kemp, Jack was never the same. As one critic said "He fought like a man in a dream". He was knocked out by Freddy Dawson and Joe Brown and outpointed by the Mexican fighter Baby Ortez.

Jack finally lost his lightweight title to Frank Flannery who knocked him out in the 9th round.

He was one of the great Aboriginal fighters, commencing with the first Aboriginal title holder, Jerry Jerome who won the Middleweight Title in 1913 when he was 39 years of age.

Jack joined the Sydney Branch of the Waterside Workers' Federation in November 1963 and retired in July 1984, a period of intense industrial and political activity in the Sydney Branch.

He participated in a number of deputations to Canberra lobbying politicians and fought the good fight for Federation and union policy.

Jack played his part in these vital struggles that ensured a successful outcome for all maritime workers.

In a tribute to Jack, emphasis was placed upon the exploitation of fighters. "Today we should make a plea that exploitation of fighters be eliminated. That all fighters be paid their maximum rewards for their great skill and courage. They do the hard work, the hard yards and take the injuries and the punishment. They should always receive their just rewards."

In Australian sporting history, there have been many great Aboriginal sportsmen and women and there will be many more in the future. Whenever the names of these great sports people are mentioned, Jack Hassen will be known as one of the best.

Harry Black

National President

Retired Members' Association

Ken Matthews: Man of Words

Ken Matthews passed away peacefully in November 28, in Bright, Victoria after a battle with emphysema.

He first went to sea on the coast in the late 1940's and retired for health reasons in the late 1980's.

Ken was a happy humourous character and the life of the party after the first drink. He had an outstanding command of the English language, which he demonstrated when calling the watch and day workers in the mornings. There was always a quip and the ability to turn any word directed against him into humour as he got everyone wide awake and laughing. Objective achieved as he proceeded to the next cabin.

Allen Fredericks

Retired Seafarer

Philip Munro: Asbestos Victim

A true 'war chief' of the working class, a life member of the Maritime Union of Australia has passed away.

Born a toiler, died a toiler. Philip John Munro died , age 65, after a long, hard and painful fight against an insidious predator brought on by asbestosis, Phil's body could take no more. But true to form with this strong, strong man, he fought it all the way to the very end.

Phil is survived by his wife Margaret and their two sons Greg & Mark, with their respective families.

Born in Balmain in 1936, Phil was one of eight children, born to Pearl and Matt Munro.

Phil was one of the lucky ones in our society who was raised on 'class conscious thinking' in the household (as was my own family of Deakins).

Our two families lived next door to each other in Ermington, a western suburb neighbourhood of Sydney. We "ate" the class struggle for breakfast, lunch and tea. With two fathers like we had, there was no escaping it.

Phil's father was an official of the Waterside Workers' Federation, 'vigilance officer' (VO) as they were called back then, in the Sydney branch. But the "Big Philou" as he was affectionately known, never lurked in his father's shadow.

It is certainly true that he drew great learning from Matt. But Phil developed an enormous understanding of the doctrine of Karl Marx at a very early stage of his life. If you did not learn something working with Philip on a ship, you really did not want to. He had such a brilliant mind.

Phil joined the WWF in Sydney in 1955. In 1966, Phil and Margaret pulled up stumps and moved down the south coast to Wollongong. The 'Big Philou' then became a member of the Kembla Branch of the Federation where he remained until injury forced him out of the industry in 1985.

The Port Kembla branch of the WWF soon realised that Phil, apart from being a strong and very capable delegate on the job, was in possession of great leadership qualities, a fact that made a couple of officials in the branch feel a little bit uneasy.

But the 'Big Philou' was no opportunist. He was quite content to do his job for his class on the ground. The highest position Phil ever held or wanted to hold in the Kembla branch was on the committee of management (COM).

Some of my old comrades (still around in Kembla) would agree though that if Phil Munro had decided to run for a branch official's position, he would have been home on a pig's back.

When you worked with Phil, he had this unbelievable ability to captivate an audience. He made you feel confident with him as your leader on the job. But it wasn't just his ability as a delegate. Phil was a very funny man. When you worked down below with him on a ship, he had you laughing from the moment you stepped off the ladder on to the skin of the hatch.

The 'Big Philou' was a simple man. He lived life to the fullest. He enjoyed a drink, a punt and a good yarn like all workers do.

He was a true and devoted family man. Phil absolutely adored children, particularly his grandchildren, Theresa, Michelle and Lachlan. He could be as hard as nails with a lot of things in life, but when it comes to kids, he was a real softy.

In the last few months of his life, Phil said to me, "I know I'm finished. But I have to make sure that 'Mag" is set up before I go."

Phil was a very deep thinker. It was forever running through his mind "How can we improve the quality of life for workers in this country under the capitalist system?"

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the other Socialist countries, Phil said to me, "This will bring the worms out of the woodwork in this country."

He said "the right wing opportunists within the trade union movement and the Labor Party will 'roll over' to reactionary politics in Australia because they themselves are enemies of Socialism." He said "the Labor Party will also accommodate big business even more because they vigorously support the system of financed capital anyway!"

The 'Big Philou' said the most frightening thing of all though in relation to the collapse of the Socialist World was that the United States would run around the world inventing potential enemies. So they could use their big stick unchallenged on countries who defied their order. Phil told me all of the above just after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. How right he was.

Phil Munro was a person who got great satisfaction in representing his class, whether it was on the job, in the union rooms, at C.O.M. level, or at a demo. He was a Marxist Leninist revolutionary of the highest calibre, a communist and a dedicated trade unionist.

Phil, remember how you and I would sit down and talk to Karl, asking him to give us some advice on how to tackle a certain job dispute?

Well, my dear comrade and confidant, you are there with Karl in my eyes. Whenever I seek advice from Marx, I'm asking your advice as well, Phil. Because to me, you are part of the Karl.

You are, and will remain, my inspiration.

Rest in peace dear comrade.

Joe Deakin

No. 252

Robert (Bob) O'Toole: Top Cook

Bob passed away in February at Coffs Harbour. He was a top baker and pastry cook before deciding on a sea going career which spanned approximately 25 years.

On every vessel he sailed on, he was always well respected as chief cook because of his culinary skills and happy disposition.

Bob retired from the Iron Duke and lived out his years at Coffs Harbour.

Bill Heath

Retired Member

Noriko Bridges: Writer & Activist

Harry Bridges widow has died. But so much a woman in her own right was Noriko Sawada Bridges Flynn, the writer and civil rights activist's obituary was run in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The newspaper described Noriko as a woman inextricably linked in people's minds to the powerful men in her life, but equally famous for her fierce commitment to civil liberties and democracy.

Noriko was interned with her Japanese American family and friends during World War II and fought against racist laws to marry the former Australian seafarer and founding leader of the International Warehouse and Longshore Union.

"A natural orator, Mrs. Flynn gave of her time to speak on human rights issues, easily addressing both schoolchildren and longshoremen," the Chronicle wrote. "She was also known for her handicapping skill at the racetrack and devilish sense of humour. With money received from the government for wartime reparations to Japanese Americans, Mrs Flynn hired a Caucasian gardener."

In an August 2001 Chronicle interview, she recalled her first encounter with the union icon.

"Harry was there, drunk as hell... So my boss drags me over there and Harry doesn't bother to get up but says, 'Where you been?' and I said, 'like all my life?'"

In 1990 Harry Bridges died. Four years later Noriko, married Ed Flynn, retired president of the Pacific Maritime Association.

She helped endow the Harry Bridges chair on labour at the University of Washington's Centre for Labor Studies. and was instrumental in having the city's Port Commission name the plaza in front of the Ferry Building 'Bridges Plaza.'

For her work with women in the Japanese American community, she was presented her with its highest honour, the "Asian Woman Warrior" award.