Reverend Alan Renton , 90, and his wife , Shirley, 85 , above, at the farewell service for them in the Uniting Church , Magnetic Island , shortly before they flew to Tasmania to retire , in a fashion .
By Peter Simon
They have had an heroic life together, fighting the good fight on many fronts . During the church morning tea , they told me how they first met . Her life threatened by severe asthma attacks , Shirley , an accomplished pianist , living in Tasmania , was sent to stay with a penfriend in outback Queensland.
While there , Alan Renton , B.Sci., D.D., living in Brisbane , a newly qualified Presbyterian minister , asked church authorities where they would like him to go to commence spreading the word . Much to his surprise , they nominated a place way out west, near Emerald , starting almost immediately .
Given a month to clear the deck in Brisbane , he took up the post and was invited to deliver a sermon, perhaps his second , on the verandah of a property where graziers gathered .
Arriving at the venue , he walked in ... there was a young woman playing the piano-Shirley. He explained what transpired : There and then he decided to marry that wonderful woman. Shirley chuckled , recalling that fateful musical moment, adding that he had " chased " her for two years , she moving back to Tasmania , before popping the question .
During their 60 years together they were avid book collectors ; I often literally bumped into Alan at garage sales on the island , both looking for new volumes to add to our shelves , piles , office disorder .
The extent of his library is evident in this photograph , which had to be cleared as their house, in which they had lived for 25 years , is on the market . Apart from an extensive religious reference section , it included many Penguin paperbacks , French literature , Greek classics , Australiana. Missionary work in the Pacific , inland Australia and China were also covered .
Shirley built up her own extensive library on Australian politics . Born in Port August , South Australia , she developed an interest in politics from the age of nine when she had to read the content of newspapers to her mother who suffered from glaucoma. Her mother had been a supporter of the wartime ALP prime minister , John Curtin .
Both the Rentons are ALP stalwarts, Alan the president of the Magnetic Island ALP branch for many years . During their lifetime of devout religious and political involvement they were forced to leave Queensland and go to Tasmania to live because of their stance against the Joh Bjelke-Petersen Government over such matters as moving Aborigines off bauxite deposits, on Cape York , land rights , the Springboks tour of Australia , the Queensland declaration of a state of emergency.
In 1983 , Reverend Renton received a card from a religious organisation with a printed question on the back : WHAT DID YOU DO TO GET SENT TO TASMANIA ! ( Obviously a tongue in cheek query , recalling the days when convicts were sent to Van Diemen's Land , now Tasmania , from England for minor crimes ). Alan replied : Had an argument with the Qld Govt about the Aboriginal issue .
Once he and Shirley attended a major religious protest meeting in Brisbane , watched by police, paddy wagons parked nearby into which they could have been thrown .
Shirley kept a large scrapbook of those dark days in Australia , which she gave me to keep . As the result of a quick look through the contents , a letter addressed to Alan attracted attention . It accused him of being neither a sportsman nor a Christian by supporting demonstrations against the South African Springboks rugby tour. These demonstrations, it charged , were organised by Communists .
It took him to task for not speaking out about the Russian treatment of Jews and failing to demonstrate against the "All Black " West Indies cricketers , the American Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and an "All White " South African singing group currently touring Australia .
During their time in Tasmania , the Rentons were both deeply involved in church work . Alan became the editor of Crosscurents, official magazine of the Division of Christian Education ,Uniting Church, Synod of Tasmania . Shirley, with a wide interest in music , did extensive reviews of religious music , injecting much of her knowledge into her work ; in one, Sing Out With Joy , sighted by me, she recalled the background of the Cantus Chorus, formed in Melbourne, with reference to Haydn and praise for one of Australia's top organists , Norman Kaye.
Shirley's impressive collection of political books were distributed among ALP members on the island and a large part went to a reference / reading room library in Townsville .
Books from Alan's collection have also been distributed far and wide . He asked me to come by and help him pack suitcases and boxes of books which will be distributed to settlements across the top of North Queensland and into the Northern Territory .
During his last few weeks on the island , a busy and stressful period for them , he asked me to help him make contact with a mother to arrange the baptism of a baby girl . While assisting him clear out the contents of a large wardrobe , he gave me a number of cardboard boxes dealing with various aspects of their life in which they fought for Aboriginal land rights , helped numerous people in difficulties .
I have witnessed Alan and Shirley involved in selfless action helping people . One memorable event, some 15 years ago, involved me assisting Alan to move a large refrigerator into a house on the island to help a young woman, in a difficult situation. It was heavy work ... I went to hospital for a triple bypass the following week , the exertion said to have contributed to me blowing a valve , or some other vital component .
A box Alan gave me last week to sift through brought to light the surprising fact that he had been a ham radio operator in Queensland and Tasmania . As a result , there was an unusual follow up revelation .
Reverend Renton , in gown , officiated, above , when a dramatic religious mural, painted by Martin Hengeveld , brought from Holland as a child , an artist and soil conservationist with the Department of Primary Industry, was dedicated at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church , Allora, Queensland . It depicted Christ reaching out from Heaven to take Man crushed by his own inventions and placing him in a better world .
Alan was so inspired by the mural , he incorporated it into his ham radio call card sent out across the world to many other radio enthusiasts . The two bottom cards in the above composite graphic are from his radio,VK4AZ, located in Presbyterian manses at Allora and Prosperpine .
While stationed at Charters Towers in the late 1950s and early 1960s , he campaigned hard to try and establish a hostel for Aboriginal children from far and wide so that they could be educated. A qualified music teacher , Shirley taught many children and adults to play the piano . She also participated in theatrical productions , like The Maid of the Mountains. Arthritis ended her piano and organ playing .
One of her many interests was sailing , racing 17ft dinghies in the Whitsundays . Even though petite, she cut a dashing figure, like the commodore of a cruising yacht club, when she strode about the waterfront in a naval jacket , with brass buttons , a captain's hat , an outfit which Alan bought at a garage sale in Tasmania .
Because of her involvement in sailing , she took a keen interest in Australian Wooden Boat Festivals held in Tasmania.
During the farewell church morning tea , after baptising a baby and making a stirring farewell speech , Alan thanked ALP members who attended . He also said that in all his 60 years of involvement with ALP branches , it surprised him how knowledgeable current island branch members were , interested in so many subjects and issues .
It is to be hoped that in Tasmania , after this salt of the earth couple have rested , some university group or author will contact the Rentons and tape their heroic, inspiring life story .
