Newspaper cuttings recently received from the extensive files of Darwin activist / agronomist Robert Wesley-Smith included articles written by journalist and author , the late Keith Willey , one dealing with concerns about reduced numbers of Magpie Geese in the Northern Territory .
In his life as a prominent reporter, Willey, below, received three consecutive Walkley Awards , wrote a large number of books on a wide range of subjects including crocodile hunting, Darwin , New Guinea , drovers , the South Pacific , the impact of colonisation on Aborigines , He covered the Six Day War in Israel in l969,the Indo-China War in l970,attended the execution of Ronald Ryan in Pentridge Goal and covered the disappearance of PM Harold Holt .
He went on patrols in Vietnam , penned rollicking poems about Darwin barmaids and a beer drinking dog . A keen sportsman , he played rugby league in Darwin for Brothers and wrote many articles about the code in Sydney.
Another highly regarded reporter, the late Les "Thrasher " Wilson , a Kiwi who worked in London, USA and Darwin , admired Willey's output ,referred to his "busy fingers" seeming pounding away on something new and interesting non-stop .
Born at Boonah , Queensland , in l930, Willey became a bank clerk and branched out into journalism , working in several states , in Alice Springs on the Centralian Advocate , in Darwin on the Northern Territory News with crusading editor Jim Bowditch ,another Walkley Award winner , on The Sun , Sydney , was editor of the Cairns Post . Late in life he obtained a degree in history from the Australian National Library and taught at the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education.
The above famous cartoon by Stan Cross , from the Wesley-Smith files , is believed to have come from Willey's book You Might as Well Laugh, Mate . Australian humour in hard times . The caption..."For gorsake,stop laughing -this is serious!"
It appeared in Smith's Weekly in l933 and was regarded as Australia's funniest joke.
Keith died from cancer ,thought to have been caused by drinking Agent Orange from pools of water while on jungle patrols with troops in Vietnam, in Toowomba on September 6,l984 . Knowing he did not have much longer to live, he threw a farewell party at the institution .
The Keith Willey Award for Journalism was named after him , administered by the University of Southern Queensland .
