1. GLAD
TIDINGS Issue: 08
NEWS FROM THE
WEST COAST
By Colin Brown
National Co-ordinator
NORM STEVENS
& BILL ROSS
RECEIVE AWARDS
Albany’s Norm Stevens and Geraldton’s Bill Ross have both
received much deserved honours in recent times.
Norm, Albany’s popular ship visitor was on Australia Day
awarded the Premier’s Australia Day Active Citizen Award.
Norm’s long and selfless ministry to seafarers visiting day and
night the port of Albany was appropriately acknowledged. Norm Stevens
Norm’s wife Jane and greatest fan and supporter, was quick
to spread the news of Norm’s accolade. Jane herself has been
a great friend of the seafarer and backbone of the Albany
committee for many years.
On the same day, on the same coastline but one thousand
kilometres north Geraldton’s chaplain Bill Ross received another
remarkable honour, namely the Order of Australia. The West
Australian newspaper said of the award…”Revd Ross was
honoured for his service to the Anglican church and to the
community of Port Hedland, while his wife Jocelyn was awarded
for her service to the community, and for her teaching of children
with impaired hearing. Both are perhaps even better known for
their work with the Mission to Seafarers.”
We raise our glasses to Norm, Bill and Jocelyn for their dedication
to the needs of others, and so spectacularly typifying the Australian
spirit and the Christian life.
Revd Bill Ross OAM

2. GLAD
TIDINGS Issue: 08
DAMPIER’S CHAPLAIN
RUNS ANOTHER SHIP
VISITING COURSE IN
PORT HEDLAND
Ian McGilvray has kindly run another ship visiting course in Port
Hedland. Participating in the course were Alan and Maria Mower
who have recently moved from Sydney to Hedland to manage the
seafarers’ centre. Alan also acts as chaplain at the centre. We hope
that they found Ian’s course of great value and wish them well in the
new venture.
Port Hedland’s environment, isolation and rapidly expanding port Dampier’s Ian McGilvray
infrastructure presents a number of challenges that we that pray Alan
and Maria will enjoy tackling.
In Dampier’s latest monthly report it was observed that the strength of
Over the past two years Ian has conducted four ship visiting courses the Australian dollar is affecting the seafarers’ salaries and spending
and the MtS family is so much richer for Ian’s willingness to share his capacity when on Aussie soil. Kiwi Jim Pether has suggested that we
vast seafaring and ministry knowledge. should redirect them to NZ but we do not think that it is allowed.
ESPERANCE’S Fred at Esperance Port
WARM WELCOME
In April it was necessary for the National Coordinator to visit our
Bunbury and Fremantle centres so it was inevitable that an invitation
to “come down to Esperance” was made by centre manager Fred
Lochowicz. After all Esperance is only a 700 kilometre drive from
Fremantle just down the road!
Unfortunately Revd Frank was visiting family in Canada but Fred was
there welcoming with open arms. It was a great chance to catch up
with Fred on the local news- how busy the centre had been this year,
the search for more volunteers and meeting the changing needs of the
crews visiting Esperance.
It was touching to meet a local beekeeper who dropped into the However, perhaps the most challenging aspect of the visit was
centre with several dozen jars of delicious honey during the visit. Fred listening to Fred’s Bob Dylan-like harmonica playing late at night
gives the honey to particular crew who swear by its nutritional and after we had shared a warm calorie-packed pizza and cool beer.
healing powers. That’s one caring MtS manager. Mercifully not a seafarer or bee was in sight (or hearing range).

3. GLAD
TIDINGS Issue: 08
BUNBURY COMMISSIONS
A NEW CHAPLAIN
At the invitation of Bishop Allan Ewing the National Coordinator
visited Bunbury in April. The visit was short but productive. Bishop
Allan has a very good knowledge of the joys and challenges of a
ministry to seafarers, and is a great supporter of our work at Bunbury
Port. Both Tim and Rose Hopwood were in fine form and arranged
an information night for volunteers to meet Col and listen to his
presentation on the need to be ready for the MLC, and share some
good news stories from around our Australian centres.
Present was Archdeacon Joe Hocking- another great supporter of
the mission, and the Revd Graeme Weaver who has recently been
commissioned as chaplain to the centre and port of Bunbury.
Tim, Brig & visiting crew to Bunbury
Graeme is thoroughly enjoying his work, particularly the ship visiting
side of things and should be a big hit with visiting crews. He was
formerly with the Australian Defence Forces. Graeme looks forward to
meeting everyone at the national conference.
FREMANTLE MTS -
A TRUE FLYING ANGEL
We all know that life at sea can be cruel
and dangerous, and none more than the
staff at our Fremantle Flying Angel club.
Recently on one single day Dennis, Ann
and Michael were attempting to cope with
a series of incidents involving seafarers
including, one who had been rushed to
hospital with acute appendicitis, another
who had just had 100 stitches sewn in his
scalp following an onboard accident with
a jigsaw and another in a coma in Perth
hospital after being medically evacuated,
suffering a stroke, from a general cargo
vessel motoring for the northern hemisphere.
The first two mentioned have thankfully
recovered but the stroke victim did not.
Dennis and Michael (with the crucial support

4. GLAD
TIDINGS Issue: 08
of the ITF) moved heaven and earth to get the dying seafarers’ wife We pray for Ricardo and his family and that a planned investigation
Cynthia and eldest son Ricardo from the Philippines to his bedside into Ricardo’s death will bring about justice and some peace for his
before he died. It was only due to Dennis’ midnight pick up of the family.
family at Perth airport and his car dash into Perth hospital’s intensive
care unit that the wife and son had a few precious hours at his And to finish on a happier note we have included a photo of the
bedside to say ‘good bye’ to Ricardo before he passed away just seafarer almost scalped by a jigsaw recovery from his ordeal with
before daybreak. some R & R at a nearby nature park in Perth.
The grieving wife and son (also a seafarer) stayed at the Club for Better to grapple with a koala than an electric saw so say the good
some days and were comforted and assisted in a number of ways, people at MtS
by Dennis, Ann, Michael and the staff.