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Moore / Eric and the lost art of public service

Eric Wigley… one of the stalwarts who provided the building blocks for Canberra when the city was little more than an overgrown country town.
Eric Wigley… one of the stalwarts who provided the building blocks for Canberra when the city was little more than an overgrown country town.
“THAT was when public servants were really public servants” was a phrase used by my father-in-law when he was unhappy with something that had gone awry in Canberra.

Eric Wigley arrived in Canberra in 1940 and was one of the stalwarts who provided the building blocks for Canberra when the city was little more than an overgrown country town. His life demonstrates some of the lessons of the past.

Serving the government of the day was a serious commitment. As a public servant of the era, Eric saw his responsibilities as a guardian of the people. He worked for many years in the Department of Interior. Recently, a friend identified his signature on land title deeds and noted many blocks developed in the 1950s and 1960s carried his signature. He retained close friendships with many other public servants and academics who arrived in Canberra in that era and came to know each other at Commonwealth hostels such as the Hotel Acton and Barton House.

In keeping with the times, Eric was an ardent royalist. He was given the job of submitting street names for the area within the parliamentary triangle. His understanding of the significance of the Magna Carta in our political history led to street names such as Langton Place, which celebrates the role that the Archbishop of Canterbury played in guiding King John to sign the Magna Carta as the cornerstone of our democracy. He added the regal flavour of King Edward, Queen Victoria and King George Terraces.

As a deputy secretary in the Department of Administrative Services under Fred Daly as minister, Eric was horrified at the introduction of political staffers.

Right up until his last days, he blamed staffers for undermining appropriate process and sensible decision making. He was convinced that ministers were much better off getting frank and fearless advice from a non-politicised public service.

Eric recognised the many challenges of the changing nature of the public service. He remained a strong supporter of the work of public servants and their commitment in what he considered were more and more difficult political environments.

In 1974 when Cyclone Tracy destroyed Darwin, Eric was oblivious and was not able to be contacted until the minister sent a car to his holiday house at North Durras. He had a phone installed within months. A television arrived at the house and the family pressure of not having a newspaper disappeared. Even though he was on leave at the time, for many years he saw this situation as a poor reflection on his role as a public servant.

Towards the end of his public service career he made some notable achievements. He was very proud of the part he played in winning the 1988 Expo for Australia. He was the Australian representative on the Bureau International des Expositions when the decision was taken to support the Brisbane Expo. He had also been the Expo commissioner-general in places such as New Orleans, Knoxville and Liverpool.

An insight into the public service of the day came out through a story of gaining Prime Ministerial approval for the Brisbane Expo. He had gleaned that Malcolm Fraser was not particularly keen on the idea, so he simply waited for the right opportunity. On the next occasion that Deputy Prime Minister, Doug Anthony, became acting PM, he slipped the brief under his nose – and the process was under way for the amazingly successful 1988 bicentennial Brisbane Expo.

When the Queen visited Canberra in 2000, she spent some time with him reflecting on the joy she had visiting the Australian pavilion at the Liverpool Garden Festival where, as commissioner-general, he had been her guide. She even recalled that they shared the same birthday – with a few years difference.

As a very reluctant retiree on his 65th birthday in 1985, Eric had former Labor Minister and “father of the House of Representatives” Fred Daly speak fondly of working with him before reading a long telegram from a former National Party Deputy Prime Minister and another “father” of the House, Doug Anthony.

Eric died on Sunday, October 25. He was 95.

The role played by public servants may have changed since 1940. Eric Wigley’s life and career illustrates the importance of what he always saw as the ongoing commitment of so many bureaucrats providing a sound future for Canberra and our nation.

 

 

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Michael Moore

Michael Moore

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