Jack the Ripper was the special subject of a contestant in a recent ABC Hard Quiz television show presented by Tom Gleeson . It brought back memories of two Kiwi journalists who have been killed off by Old Father Time , Les Wilson and his partner of some 30 years ,Toni McRae, who both last resided in Hervey Bay , Queensland.
By Peter Simon
Toni , a top reporter who had worked in war zones , received several UN Peace Prizes , made a name for herself covering Australian politics, was known to have been working on a book about Jack the Ripper with an Australian angle . From time to time, Les mentioned "Toni's book" about Jack the Ripper over the phone . They had gone overseas , I think even to Paris , chasing The Ripper.
Toni, who worked on Queensland's Fraser Coast Chronicle from 2005-2011 , fell victim to breast cancer , died at the age of 67 . It would be interesting to know what happened to her research into the notorious killer and what exactly was the Australian connection , from memory , a relative of hers who had possibly come to Australia .
Les was sent to the Northern Territory News in Darwin soon after it was bought by Rupert Murdoch in 1960 to help the crusading editor, Jim Bowditch . He was responsible for starting the popular annual sporting event , the NT News Walkabout, a 15 mile walking race . He got the idea after a session in the Victoria Hotel with pipe smoking Englishman Jimmy Wadsworth, who told him about walking races in which he had competed in younger days in Singapore and Hong Kong . Such a race would do well in Darwin , he suggested. Les wrote up " Walking Jimmy Wadsworth's " idea and it became a much supported event , the proceeds going to pensioners.
Les went on to make a name for himself in London and America and back in Australia. We kept in contact over the years . On one occasion , in Darwin , he unexpectedly rang me from the airport, said he had just flown in from America , could he bring a young lady passenger to my home who seemed to have succumbed to jetlag or some other condition- a sodium deficiency- so that she could recover ? Always ready to help a damsel in distress was Les .
Les often told how he had turned down an opportunity to buy a share in a new, little-known band , The Rolling Stones, featuring Mick Jagger.Toni recalled that in New Zealand in her younger days she had once ironed the crumpled shirt of Paul McCartney of the Beatles for him to wear on stage .
Long conversations were had with Les gaining information about his lively time in Darwin on the NT News with Jim Bowditch , for whom he had the greatest admiration , when I was researching Bowditch's biography .Toni fired in an email or two about Les .
