Percy Chatterton

Death of Sir Percy Chatterton

Former missionary, pioneer Papua New Guinea politician, author and PIM columnist, Sir Percy Chatterton, died in Port Moresby General Hospital on November 25.

Sir Percy, 86, had been admitted to the hospital a fortnight earlier following a fall at his home in which he broke a leg.

Made a Knight Commander of the British empire in 1981, Sir Percy had unique status in PNG he was a British citizen and a permanent resident.

Born in Lancashire on October 8, 1898, he first went to PNG in 1924 as a missionary with the London Missionary Society. He remained there for the following 60 years.

On his arrival, he took charge of the LMS mission school in Port Moresby (Hanuabada), and later was missionary in charge in Delena District, Bereina. He was also made a Congregational minister, and established a church in Koki to serve migrants. He was later seconded to the Bible Society for translation work.

He retired from mission activity in 1964, and stood for Parliament. He was successful at his first attempt, and was elected to the first House of Assembly, representing Central Special Electorate.

He stood down in 1972, but remained a very keen and critical political commentator until the end.

Sir Percy had a decades-long association with PIM and its publishing company, Pacific Publications.

He wrote scores of book reviews and articles for PIM, and for a number of years in the late ’7os and early ’Bos contributed a regular column, Afterthoughts, to the maga zine.

Pacific Publications produced two books by Sir Percy in the 19705: one was Day That I Have Loved, his reminiscences of his years in Papua, and the other Say it in Motu, a guide to the Papuan language he had come to know so well.

The Papua New Guinea Government accorded Sir Percy Chatterton a State funeral on November 28.

PIM will carry further obituary tributes to Sir Percy in its February issue.