Larrikin veteran farewelled
FORMER Changi prisoner-of-war Bob Mutton always loved a good joke.
Invited to the official opening of Yeppoon’s Iwasaki Resort as a Chamber of Commerce representative many years ago, Mr Mutton brought the house down when he opened with: "This is the second time I have been a guest of the Japanese."
The Cairns World War II veteran, who died on Monday at the age of 88, was yesterday remembered as "a real larrikin" but also as an entrepreneur "who learnt long ago how to bounce back when times were at their blackest".
A captive in Singapore's notorious Changi prisoner-of-war camp for three and a half years, the sergeant from the 2/20 Battalion of the 8th Australian Division organised concerts for his comrades.
He was also one of five soldiers who took enormous risks to keep diaries on scraps of paper, which were buried and recovered after the war.
Fifty years later, Mr Mutton used the fragments for his book Home for Christmas but Five Years Late, in a bid to prevent hardship to victims' families.
He told The Cairns Post his memories of Changi’s horrific ordeals were "as fresh as ever", leading Cairns RSL sub-branch president Peter Turner to marvel at his many contributions since.
"I've always found it amazing men like Bob, after all they've been through, have such a tenacity for life," Mr Turner said yesterday.
Cardwell residents remembered a former Chamber of Commerce president who was instrumental in establishing their Coral Sea war memorial and played a part in everything from promoting bananas to getting crab races started in the town.
Long-time friends said their mate was a staunch Liberal supporter who had former prime minister Bob Menzies’ ear in the days before he moved north.
Mr Mutton is also known for buying and revamping Mt Garnet’s deserted mining town of Battle Creek.
"He moved with governors but he was also a real larrikin of a bloke," long-time friend Bob Carroll said.
An RSL requiem will be part of a funeral service for Mr Mutton at the Cairns Crematorium and Memorial Gardens Chapel from 10am tomorrow.
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Much missed: Bob Mutton.
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