CELEBRATING his 99th birthday yesterday, Mount Gambier resident and World War II veteran Colin Cameron OAM has lived a life of achievement.
Humble and giving, Mr Cameron has dedicated many years and huge amounts of effort to serving his community and country.
On Anzac Day, 1943 Mr Cameron like many other Australians joined the navy, enlisting into the 3rd Light Horse Brigade.
“There was a young bloke from Port Pirie who I was good friends with who persuaded me to join the navy,” he said.
“Sadly, we never saw each other again after we enlisted,” Mr Cameron said.
“We lost him at sea, he was based in Sydney and was with 600 other sailors off the Western Australian coast – that is where his war grave remains today.”
With previous experience using typewriters Mr Cameron worked using a teletype machine – a landline communication tool – to send messages across Australia.
“It was very attractive because we went to the signal school where there were lots of girls learning all sorts of coding,” he said.
“However, what I didn’t know was the boys they wanted were all to go on shore bases, so I was in Darwin for 17 months before I was sent back to Melbourne where I stayed at the navy head office with two or three others.
“But I did find a wonderful wife – she was a clerk in the navy and from Western Australia – she was lovely,” he said.
Shortly after leaving the navy Mr Cameron resumed work at a chaff and grain store and petrol station in Mount Gambier that was previously owned by his father.
However, he soon joined the team at the K&S Corporation where he worked for 30 years.
“It was an amazing company to work for, not many people get the opportunity to work with and for someone like that,” he said.
“The happiest part was when I was sent overseas on a transport study tour where I travelled for two months across Europe and the United States.”
Involving himself heavily in the Mount Gambier community, Mr Cameron became a founding member with the Apex Club in Mount Gambier, a charter member of the Rotary Club of Mount Gambier West and received the Returned and Services League Meritorious Medal – only the second of its kind to be given in Mount Gambier.
Making an impact at the Mount Gambier RSL, Mr Cameron was often invited back to budget meetings as the “voice of reason”, asking questions that would really make people think.
Mr Cameron’s voice may also be remembered by many around the region from the Blue Lake Community Broadcast, the Mount Gambier Eisteddfod as an announcer, the Choral Society and as a wedding singer.
But most significantly is his Order of Australia Medal (OAM) which he was presented by former Governor of South Australia Marjorie Jackson.
These awards and recognitions still hang proudly in Mr Cameron’s room at Boandik Lodge where he currently resides, among photographs of his wife, two children, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
A special meeting Rotary Club of Mount Gambier West meeting will be held at Boandik Lodge tonight in recognition of Mr Cameron’s contribution to the club.
