ONE’S life should be about participating, accepting challenges and having fun.
That was the outlook of the late Nigel Porteous OAM, former sea captain and mariner whose life was remembered this week with a service at Melbourne Mission to Seafarers.
As previously reported in DCN, Nigel passed away in December aged 87.
The service, conducted by the Reverend John Sanderson and Reverend Inni Punay, covered the vast sweep of his life, from Jersey in the Channel Islands to Scotland, England, Papua New Guinea and Australia.
His sister Rozel Surcouf recalled a happy childhood, albeit punctuated with the loss of their father when Nigel was aged just seven.
They were moved from Jersey to Scotland during World War II ahead of the German occupation.
A young Nigel Porteous excelled at sports such as cricket and rugby, but it was the experience of growing up in a maritime community that led to him joining the sea cadets and attending Maritime Training School at Worcester.
It was at the MTS that he earned the Queen’s Gold Medal as top cadet, presented to him especially by head of the navy Lord Louis Mountbatten.
He served internationally as a navigating officer with British, Hong Kong and Australian shipping companies.
It was during these years at sea that Nigel met his future wife Jenny and they settled for many years in the city of Lae in PNG.
Jenny Porteous told the gathering Nigel “took the ups and down of life in his stride”.
She recalled an experience of rescuing members of the plantation owning Casey family from their stricken boat in the Huon Gulf, people with whom they became firm friends.
“He just loved a new project” Jenny Porteous said, noting his community minded approached, examples being with the Lae Chamber of Commerce, with the Melbourne Mission to Seafarers and the Company of Master Mariners Australia (CoMMA).
Eldest son James Porteous talked about Nigel’s core values, such as common humanity and working together.
James Porteous said his father relished making new friends and living life to the full.
As his health failed, he retained his sense of humour and perspective, with comments such as “getting old is disappointing” and “well, it’s been a good life”.
James Porteous said their father taught them to respect the sea a message he took with him in his own career.
James said Nigel’s message was that “life is about accepting challenges, participating and having fun”.
Hymns during the service included Eternal Father, Strong to Save, which includes the famous line ‘for those in peril on the sea’.
During his life, Nigel was devoted to the welfare of seafarers and was also a keen tennis player, fisherman, theatregoer and much-loved family man.
His time was divided between Melbourne, Peterborough in Victoria and Queensland, as well as visits back to his beloved Jersey when possible.
He was presented with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2020, reflecting a life of integrity, service and quiet leadership.
Nigel is survived by Jenny, sons James and Michael and their families.