General News
25 January, 2025
Mornington Island's Uncle Bobby receives OAM honour
The stalwart of the Gulf community was recognised in the Australia Day honours.
Uncle Bobby Thompson says he suspected something unusual was happening over the past few days.
Mornington Island’s deputy mayor said there was a lot of whispering going on when he walked into a room.
“Everyone was all hush-hush about something,” he laughs when speaking to North West Weekly.
“Then the (council) CEO told me.”
Uncle Bobby is the latest addition to the exclusive club of recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) having been recognised in the 2025 Australia Day honours list.
The great-grandfather, who will celebrate his 73rd birthday later this year, said he was surprised to be bestowed with the honour.
“I didn’t expect anything for all my work – I just wanted to do things to improve my community,” he said.
“I wanted to do things to help the small ones – the teenagers and the younger ones – to see my example and try to do the same in their lifetime.”
Uncle Bobby is well known and highly respected across the Gulf community for his contributions to Mornington Shire Council – where he is deputy mayor and a long-serving councillor – as well as the local Volunteer Marine Rescue unit and fire brigade.
Seemingly always on the frontline when trouble strikes the island, Uncle Bobby’s work has seen him involved in everything, from search and rescues, to fighting fires.
There are many who have travelled in the waters in the Gulf who owe an intense debt of gratitude to the persistence and dedication of Uncle Bobby.
When North West Weekly asked those living on Mornington Island about Uncle Bobby, the repeated reply was that behind the softly spoken and unassuming veneer was a true force of nature.
Uncle Bobby left Mornington Island as a young man to work on cattle stations near Boulia before going on to work as an able seaman on cargo vessels travelling between Cairns and Gove in the Northern Territory.
This apprenticeship on the water provided Uncle Bobby with the skills to take the helm of Mornington Island Volunteer Marine Rescue, where he has served as vice-commodore for many years.
Phil Williams first got to know Uncle Bobby when he arrived on the island to work as a local school teacher in the early 1980s.
Mr Williams also took senior roles in the Rural Fire Brigade, SES and Volunteer Marine Rescue and the pair led the groups together for over a decade.
Now retired in Cairns, Mr Williams said that Uncle Bobby was a worthy recipient of the OAM honour due to the leadership and solid example he had provided the younger generations.
“Uncle Bobby is a true stalwart of the community; I arrived on the island in 1982, and he was a leader in the community back then,” Mr Williams said.
“He has always been willing to help others – no matter whether they were his family or not.
“If there was ever someone who was going to be relied upon in an emergency – whether it be a boat rescue or a search for someone on the land or to put out a fire – it was always Bobby you could rely on to be there.
“He is a very modest man, and I am sure he will be embarrassed about getting this recognition – but he is a very worthy person to receive this recognition. He has given so much to his community.”
Mr Williams recalled the time when the marine rescue group was called to assist a trawler about 100km from Mornington Island, where a deckhand had a suspected broken back after a huge stingray fell on top of him.
The seas were rough on the journey and most of the six-man rescue crew were soon incapacitated – curled over and sick.
“Myself and Bobby were basically the last men standing,” Mr Williams laughed.
“I had to keep our boat steady while Bobby went on board the trawler and helped the man down and got him settled for the return trip. I think that just shows that he is made of stern stuff – everyone else on the boat was sick and vomiting but Bobby remained committed to the task at hand and determined to finish the job.”
Ever modest, Uncle Bobby said he wanted his recognition to serve as inspiration for the next generation of Mornington Islanders.
“I love this place and the people – I love to help everyone,” he said.
“I think the council has done marvellous work getting people to move on to the straight and narrow way – I know there is still a lot that needs to be improved but I believe we can achieve what we are working for.
“I would like to see a few of our young people from here (Mornington Island) rise up.
“I believe with all my heart that the young people will come to do things for themselves, just like I have done things.”