Obituary for Peta May Salmon - by Ben Salmon
Peta May Salmon, born 31/07/1940, died 28/08/2024 aged 84yrs, was a past member of the Communist Party of Australia, subscriber and minor contributor to the Search Foundation. She was also a Teachers Federation Representative who fought for the rights of teachers during the late 1970’s.
In 1973 she married Malcolm Frederick Salmon, a fellow CPA member and journalist for the Guardian and The Tribune, being The Tribune’s war correspondent throughout the Vietnam War. After Malcolm’s death in 1986, she enjoyed her twilight years with Eric Aarons; ex-CPA secretary, theorist, teacher and brother of Laurie Aarons. She is survived by her and Malcolm’s only child, Benjamin Frank Salmon.
Peta was the youngest of two daughters to Bertram Frank Hussey, (civil engineer, and Brigadier General), and Hilda Jean McCue, (stenographer and Barmaid). Her sister, being about 3 years older, was Rhona Jean Hussey. After 12 years of marriage Bertram felt betrayed and divorce proceedings were finalised. Bertram then remarried a military nurse who was to rise to the rank of Captain, Lillian Jessie Rae Wilson.
Both Rhona and Peta were academically inclined and were to complete their secondary education at Sydney Girls High. After graduating as far as I know Peta travelled to Egypt, Greece, Denmark, Ireland and Russia. Having a keen sense of the balance and contrast within a composition her black and white photographs from her travels showcase she was no mere tourist seeking out happy snaps to impress her friends. To this day I am proud to say my mother took those photographs and so much so I included a selection for the slideshow presentation, a staple of funerals these days. As further proof of her artistic bent she tried her hand at woodwork and sculpting under the guidance of Eric Aarons much later in life, the detailed workmanship of which was evident in the dozen or so broaches distributed amongst her mourners as a means of remembrance.
Though her political convictions probably crystallised due to the relationships she forged while being a member of the CPA it is evident from my research that as a young adult she had harboured anti-war, anti-exploitation and anti-discrimination sentiments. I don’t know the full extent of her association but am aware she was a regular attendee at the gatherings of the Sydney-based The Push, before becoming a member of the CPA. She was once convicted of discouraging people from being conscripted to fight in the Vietnam War. Though short and sweet her list of politically contrived convictions are, simply put: the consequence of having a political conscience in an atmosphere where amnesia and/or denial serves the status quo. This was a time when a domino effect of independence movements was slowly but surely unravelling across the world, ultimately testing colonial powers and their legitimacy. So the stakes were high.
The next significant marker of the woman she was came about from her decision to become and the way she applied herself to becoming a certain type of teacher. She specialised in ESL, or teaching English as a second language at both Homebush Boys High School and Cleveland Street Intensive Language Centre. At both schools, she successfully fostered strong relationships with her students, whether they had traumatic backgrounds or special needs, a willingness to learn or an aversion to their new school environment. Somehow she managed to build up those who needed it and breakdown the barriers for those who couldn’t see past them. This was achieved by a variety of means but the results are probably best recognised from the intimacy of the photos I’ve recently revisited. There are albums full of photos detailing the progress of her students and the closeness our family ended up sharing with them and later their families.
Here are two examples of many similar stories: one student in particular called Peta mum and me brother, we went to his wedding, met his fiancé several times before the big day, hosted lunch, went to events together and traded letters, sending photos from his travels abroad and of his relatives when he returned to his parents home country.
We became family friends with a Korean girl with Cerebral Palsy. We would take her to the zoo or for an outing around the Botanical Gardens. Over time she would begin to thrive, steadily articulating herself more clearly and going on to further her education. I never knew anybody to smile so consistently in defiance of the odds and Peta not only adored but admired her for it, saw nothing but her positivity and felt out her own opportunity to build upon it. I think she got a thrill from seeing her grow to the point where she could find her own way: she basically loved her students.
Peta was a generous, kind, warm, down to earth, cheeky and fun woman. She was also loyal, stubborn and a woman of her word and convictions. Her humour and joyous spirit was often enough an aid and tonic to those around her, as her willingness to be the first to get up dance seemed to attest.
Peta is dearly missed by her son and his family.
Ben would be interested in corresponding with anybody who knew Peta and has memories of her they would like to share.
Benjamin Salmon.
