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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-29 Daily Xml
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MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:36): The Maritime Union of Australia is a great union. Along with many in this place, I recall many struggles it has waged on behalf of its members, the men of the sea. Last week, I attended a service to remember a seafarer, Mr Les Perry, and our condolences go to Pat and her family in their time of loss.

It was with great sadness that I learnt the very next day of the passing of Rex Munn, a truly wonderful man I have known only for about 20 years, but some of the comrades had known him for much longer than that; in particular, the Maritime Union of Australia members in the South Australia branch, the MUA vets; the May Day Collective; the CPSU; the CFMEU; the member for Ashford, her partner and staff; the CPA; the Port Adelaide National Trust and the Tea Tree Gully Football Club, among many others.

To Rex, the most important things were his love for the love of his life, Marcia, his family, his union, his friends and the Waterside Workers Hall at Port Adelaide—and it was to farewell Rex that the Premier and so many gathered there earlier today to the sounds of TheInternationale, hopefully all in tune, for Rex was known as the 'Singing Socialist'—and that is how I first met him.

Rex died peacefully after a brief battle with cancer on 21 November at the age of 84. He was the beloved husband of Marcia, and the loved father and stepfather of Norma, Michael, Janet, Mary, Ruth, Jane, David (deceased), Sally and May. He was the treasured poppa and grandpa of Michelle, Kirstin, Damien, Stacey (deceased), Benjamin, Joseph, Tara, Jenna, Chloe, Marcia, Rick, Jennifer, Michael, Paul, Carl, Rachael, Meagan, Thai and Nantale, and he was cherished by his great-grandchildren.

Rex was a legend of the Labor movement in South Australia. He was the president of the MUA Retired Veterans Committee and vice-president of the May Day Collective. He always led the May Day dinner in renditions of the Red Flag, SolidarityForever and, of course, our beloved The Internationale. I am grateful to Rex's family and MUA state secretary, Jamie Newlyn, for the following information.

Rex was born in Mannum in 1928, the third of seven children. He was 12 when the family moved to Semaphore, and so was born his lifelong love of the Port Peninsula and its people. Rex joined the wharf at the age of 23 in 1951. These were days of great struggles to improve workers' working conditions and wages, and Rex fast became an active participant in the political lessons of the day. He was an unflinching member of his union, the Waterside Workers Federation (now the MUA) and a member of the Communist Party of Australia. Rex spent 36 years on the wharf—hard years, long before mechanisation, when men carried sacks on their back and a man's best help was his gang.

Rex retired as vigilance officer for the union in 1987, but his motto was 'retired from the workforce but not from the struggle'. Rex moved to Tea Tree Gully in 1957, so the north-east of Adelaide has a claim to his affections, too, as he joined the Tea Tree Gully Football Club in 1960. He took to his footy club just as he did to his working life, with great passion, and he was a proud life member of the club.

After some time in the Clare Valley, a place also dear to my heart, Rex and Marcia travelled around Australia and settled in Queenstown, where Rex launched himself back into community activity. He became the president of the Maritime Union Veterans Association, a member of the SA Unions' community action group, a member of the May Day Committee, a member of the Asbestos Advisory Committee to the government, a member of the Fair Go for Pensioners Committee and he became a committee and foundation member of the Port Adelaide branch of the National Trust. He was a passionate and boundlessly enthusiastic volunteer at the Port Adelaide Maritime Museum for many years.

Rex had a special interest in the Waterside Workers Hall and its survival and he sang there on many occasions. I cannot remember a workers' memorial observance at the Black Diamond Corner where Rex was not present. Rex was a born entertainer and started singing at a very young age. He sang at every opportunity and many were blessed to have heard him sing. He was the leader of the Union Entertainment Committee in the 1950s and was a member of the New Theatre and sang in Reedy River on the Waterside Workers Hall stage. In fact, he kept on singing until the end.

How could we really encapsulate such a rich and full life and pay proper tribute in this short time here today? Rex's contribution has been inspiring to those he worked with for so many years and the new generation of maritime workers who followed. He set a fine example and no doubt never missed an opportunity to assist them and passed on his knowledge of the sea and the Labor movement. As a past winner of the May Day Spanner, Rex's strength and dedication will remain, just like the MUA, here to stay in our memories forever.

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