Gerald Frankland Elliott (1924 - 2009)

CANBERRA. Wednesday. -

Japanese radio equipment worth £1.24m will form part of a new micro-wave telephone, radio and television link between Brisbane and Cairns.

The Postmaster - General. Mr C. W. Davidson announced the project to-day.

He also announced that an English company would supply microwave equipment for a Melbourne - Adelaide link.

Japan will supply the Brisbane - Cairns equipment under one of two P.M.G. contracts with Japanese suppliers which were announced in Tokyo yesterday.

Mr Davidson said his department had let a contract for £1.78m to Standard Telephone and Cables Pty. Ltd. for supply and installation of a broadband microwave relay system between Brisbane and Cairns.

This was part of a £4m project to improve telecommunications between these centres.

Australian Content

S.T.C. would also he responsible for associated stand-by power plant, antenna support towers and test equipment.

The radio equipment, worth £l.24m. would be made in Japan by the Nippon Electric Company a business associate of S.T.C.

The department had made provision for the maximum practicable Australian content in the manufacture of other components.

Electric Power Transmission Pty. Ltd. of Sydney would make the antenna towers. and McColl Electric Company of Melbourne would make the power plant.

The department would call tenders progressively over the next few months for the erection of 30 buildings to house relaying equipment.

Mr Davidson said the new large capacity trunk system would come into operation in 1966.

The system would provide for relays of programs to the five national television stations to be established in Wide Bay, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns over the next few years.

The project also would establish a key link in the Commonwealth round-the-world submarine cable system.

Mr Davidson said his department had let a contract to the General Electric Company Ltd. of England. for supplying microwave equipment for the Melbourne - Adelaide link.

Initial equipment installed between Melbourne and Adelaide would be capable of providing up to 960 telephone channels.

The contract included provision of additional equipment for a one-way television relay system from Adelaide to the proposed national television service transmitter for the Mt. Gambier region.

The entire project waa expected to cost about £l.25m and to he completed by the middle of 1966.

The Sydney Morning Herald. - Aug 7, 1963. Accessed October 2009 by Peter Kane

1. Introduction

Over the years I’ve heard many of Gerry’s stories, and I feel that I connected with him on a number of levels. Having worked as a Communications Engineer, I understand the career achievements he made, as well as understanding some of the motivation behind the choices he made. So, I’d like to take this opportunity to say a few things about Gerry, both on a personal and practical basis. I will take just a few highlights from a full and fruitful life, a life of service and of adventure, and hopefully convey the respect and honour I feel for Gerry. Basically, as all good Engineers seem to, I’ll concentrate on two acronyms, as achievements in these areas seem to sum up Gerry’s character and motivation:

• BCOF, and
• PMG!

2. Background

As a young man, Gerry chose one of the most high-tech careers available at the time – the Radio industry. In those days, that was like TV and Computers rolled into one. It was an exciting industry to be part of, and it attracted the brightest and best. Because it was still a young and developing industry, achieving a qualification wasn’t easy, and it took a lot of persistence to achieve competence and recognition. Even so, Gerry’s qualification is recognised from what is now QUT. In those days, with the background he had this would have been a remarkable achievement. Even at this early stage, Gerry showed he had a dose of wander-lust, to get the experience needed he spent time in many remote areas, until he was called up in Dalby. It was in Dalby that he responded to the call-up for WWII.

3. WWII

Gerry didn’t talk much about what happened in PNG, so I never heard much detail, but I do know that every day spent in the war zone, and even getting there were days of danger: days either of action, or of almost unbearable tension, not knowing if a passing aeroplane would drop a bomb, or a distant sniper would end it all. Gerry didn’t go to war lightly, I know that he thought it through, counted the cost, and when the time came joined with a full knowledge of the consequences.

4. BCOF

To me Gerry is a hero, not just because of this wartime service, but even more-so because of the achievements and service during peace. These are the actions and qualities and character that we can all aspire to, since most of us will be fortunate enough never to have to fight in a war. My first point is the British Commonwealth Occupation Force of Japan (BCOF). For many years Gerry was active in the BCOF association. It was clearly an important period of his life.

Soldiers who went to Japan were volunteers, and I think that a Gerry jumped at the opportunity of visiting exotic locations, and of the challenging work. As an engineer we are trained to construct and operate the machinery of civilisation. War destroys all this, and I think he wanted not only the adventure, but also to reconstruct the devastation of war. I did some research about the BCOF, and it wasn’t all fun: The initial task of the BCOF was to dismantle the Japanese war machine. Later the task became one of helping Japan to recover from the war. To quote one source: Members of the British Commonwealth Base Force engineers, ordnance, signals and medical all played their part in bomb disposal, bridge and barracks buildings, telecommunications, looking after the sick, transport and running BCOF. In the early days the BCOF was in full war-footing, and some soldiers were killed by Japanese secret societies. However, perhaps the biggest danger was from illness, with cholera being epidemic during the summer months. Gerry had contacted malaria while in PNG, and had a recurrence in Japan. He could have been one of the 80 – 90 casualties of the BCOF. The area that the Australian troops were located in was Kure, near Hiroshima on the Japanese Inland Sea. Kure was a major Japanese naval base, and very hilly. Gerry saw the devastation of the atomic bomb, and of American bombing of the Hiroshima area. He saw Japanese warships, and told me of the RADAR systems that these ships had. There were compensations. I think the radio group travelled around a lot, and were relatively independent. I’ve heard stories of commandeered jeeps, and trips to different, out-of-the-way spots in Japan. Having been to Japan myself, it must have been unbelievably interesting, and totally different from any other place Gerry had been.

4. Hervey Bay #1

However, life goes on, and eventually, Gerry came home. Gerry had joined the PMG, and his job brought him to the radio station at Hervey Bay. Photos of this era show him at the beach! or driving an sports-car, and then engaged to be married to the most beautiful girl in the ‘Bay! I think that Eileen’s family must have thought he was a strange kind of fish! Almost from another planet, and I can’t begin to think of what Nana Morgan though when, after they were married, they headed north 800 miles in the sports-car to start a new life in the Atherton Tablelands. In those days the Bruce Highway was mostly dirt, and they had to drive through flooded creeks, even strap the bumper bar onto the boot. It must have been quite an adventure!

Note: Eileen Born 21 February 1932 Married 21 March 1953 (i.e. Gerry was 29, Eileen 21 [just]) WB – CNS: 800 Miles (1200 km)

5. Family

Of course it didn’t end there, after Atherton there was Southport, and Townsville and eventually Mackay. The wander-lust was still there, with so many locations, but they started a family, and would have had many happy days. Those of us with a family know the commitment and cost to raise the four girls. We also know the stress – enough to make Gerry to become a Scout Leader, and join Rotary as an excuse to get out of the house, and get some male company! Gerry’s practical skills live on in the genes of his family. My children are much more practical than me because of this.

6. PMG

I would like to focus on one more achievement, because I think that this came with the highest personal and family cost, but perhaps was the most important of all. In those days the PMG was part of government, and the opportunity to contribute to a major nation-building project arose. Gerry became part of what was in effect the first National Broadband Network. I think the attraction of this project was too enticing for Gerry, and I suspect he counted the cost again, and another adventure was started. I have a press clipping announcing in 1962 the commitment to establish a series of microwave repeater sites from Brisbane to Cairns. This was part of a nation-wide series of microwave links, and joined with the round-the-world submarine cable system. Can you imagine the effort involved in 1962 of carving out 30 sites on remote, rugged, lonely mountain tops? Cutting a road, clearing a site, constructing a tower and buildings, providing power, installing radios, testing and commissioning? The project was massive, and the commitment, personal sacrifice, and family sacrifice were also immense. Gerry was away from home for 18 months or more?, only coming home for a few weekends. By that time Kathy had arrived, and Eileen had four girls to look after! The commitment and sacrifice by Eileen and the family were probably even more than Gerry made. I know that Eileen does not look back on this time with fondness! However, as an Engineer, It is hard to overstate the importance of this project: It was foundational for the fledgling TV industry. Without it TV networks would have been impossible. For instance, images of the moon landing being beamed to houses and schools in 1969 throughout Queensland would not have been possible without this. It also dramatically increased the number of telephone lines, and the speech quality of those lines, leading to the shrinking of distance for personal use, and an immense improvement in the ability to conduct business.

Statistics: BNE-CNS: ~ 1500km 30 Buildings Radio equipment ₤1.24M = ~ $23M Project ₤4M = ~ $75M Commenced in 1962, finished on time 1966. In a strange twist, the radio equipment came from Japan, and the connection formed in the BCOF was strengthened during this project. The family fondly talk about the Japanese technicians who came bearing gifts!

After that Gerry stayed with the PMG, eventually settling in Mackay, managing the repeater station for what became Telstra, until returning to the ‘Bay on retirement ... one last adventure.

7. Memorial

So, in summary, how will I remember Gerry? What will I imagine when I think of him? ... Sometimes, when I drive past a lonely, remote radio tower, or at night when I see a distant red beacon, I’ll spare a thought for a life well lived, a life of service and of adventure ... ... and the vision I see won’t be of the Gerry I actually saw, the Gerry that most of us here met, it will be of the dashing young man, and a pretty bride, setting off along the track with a smile on their faces, a suitcase and the bumper bar lashed to the boot, ready for whatever comes their way, determined to make a life for themselves and a difference in the world ... ... I’ll shed a tear, but I believe that Gerry is in that great cloud of witnesses that have gone before, and that one day, we will meet again, and I’ll have all the time I need to listen to another story, and another story, and another story ...