John Anthony Springhall has served both as a servant and a leader in three distinct and disparate professions.  He has been a close friend and confidant, a mentor and a counsellor to many hundreds who have been privileged to know him, to have worked with him and to have been taught by him.  He has been one who brought to every aspect of his personal and professional life the personal qualities which made the name of John Springhall synonymous with the highest ideals of community service and of complete integrity.

At his Funeral Service in St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane, several hundred have gathered together as a witness and expression of this close personal friendship - for indeed few have been blessed with more good personal friends than this exceptional man. Many have come together in collective tribute, symbolising the most important public themes of volunteer community service which characterised John Springhall’s life.

The academic gowns of the University of Queensland are a witness of our esteem of his primary profession of veterinary science and animal husbandry, in a field to which he contributed so much to the developing world.  The distinctive bottle green berets of our colleagues of the Queensland Commando Association are an affirmation of his courage and service as a frontline commando during the Second World War.  The military uniforms of the Australian Defence Force are a tribute to his leadership not only in the Royal Australian Infantry but in those other proud Arms and Service Regiments which he commanded with such distinction.

The uniforms of St John Ambulance Australia and the mantles of the Order of St John, together with the emblems of the Sovereign Military Order of St John and those of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and of the Order of Australia (including the OBE Association which he helped establish) are also witness to his creativity and service.  His loyal role in so many associations, including his proactive membership of both the Queensland Club and the United Service Club, has contributed to both those bodies to which he brought his inimitable stamp of pride in shared heritage and the preservation of collegiate ties.

As a boy, John Springhall grew up in Bellevue Hill in Sydney and attended The Scots College. He was an enthusiastic participatory sportsman, and a senior oarsman at the School. He attended Scots as a day boy, successfully completing his matriculation year in 1940.

A Veterinary Surgeon
Many knew Dr John Springhall primarily as a veterinary surgeon. After his schooling at The Scots College in Bellevue Hill in Sydney, he matriculated to the University of Sydney and graduated with his veterinary degree therefrom in 1949. He was appointed a Lecturer in Veterinary Surgery at the University of Sydney in 1950. His 32 years as a practising vet encompassed a special blend of academia, of private practice and of his work within the commercial industry of animal husbandry. He established in his own veterinary practice in Orange in Western New South Wales and it was there that he met and married Janette Hood, who with their loving and extended family have been the datum of the extensive group of friends, professional colleagues and associates who have come together to pay their last respects.

For four years, John worked as the Senior Veterinary Officer firstly with the Development Division of Drug Houses of Australia and then as the Manager and Research Director of Crago Stock Feeds, based in Sydney. Following his work in both private practice as a veterinary surgeon and his work in the commercial aspects of veterinary science, he brought his practical and experienced background of clinical veterinary practice and commercial employment to his work as an academic at the University of Queensland.

He served as a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry at the University of Queensland for 23 years until his retirement in 1982. It was during this period that he successfully completed his Master of Veterinary Science Degree; and subsequently in 1972 was awarded one of the first Doctor of Philosophy Degrees within the Faculty of Veterinary Science at this University. John’s special interests were in the development of food stocks to promote animal husbandry in the developing world. Over a period of 15 years he was a leader in the development of self-sustaining food stocks for poultry and pig production in the nations of the south-west Pacific. He had been a Guest Speaker at the 1962 World Poultry Science Convention in Sydney, a forum which sparked his interest in the importance of research and practical teaching in the establishment of commercial poultry, pig and fish farms, initially in the (then) Territory of Papua New Guinea; and later in the Cook Islands and in American Samoa.

His research and the training of local farmers’ co-operatives and collective groups involved many visits to Papua New Guinea, particularly to the Torricelli Mountains in the Sepik District and to Lae and Finchafen in the Morobe District; and in the Eastern Highlands based in Goroka. This important work helped establish the principles and practice of self-sustainability in small communities in several nations of the western Pacific. He was a consultant to many of the Missions in the Territory of Papua New Guinea and his advice and counsel led to the establishment of many self-sustaining systems of pig, poultry and freshwater fish production on those Mission Stations. This in turn led, in no small measure, to their independence and profitability. Such in turn served as models for a number of the civilian co-operative communities throughout the Territory, an influence which persisted well beyond 1976 when Papua New Guinea became independent and our nearest Sovereign neighbour.

In 1976 he conducted training courses in Tropical Pig Production and Porcine Nutrition in the Cook Islands for the South Pacific Commission. Again, in 1982, as a representative of the University of Queensland, he worked for the South Pacific Commission in the development of self-sustaining nutrition, from local sources, for both pig and poultry production. From 1976 to 1978, in addition to his teaching and research duties based in Brisbane at the University of Queensland, he was appointed Director of Studies for the Australian Development Assistance Agency, within the Department of External and Foreign Affairs, providing lectures on tropical veterinary nutrition to students from Africa, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Korea, the Philippines and another six nations of the Pacific region. Besides his technical knowledge and practical experience, his personal qualities of leadership led to his being elected President of the Queensland Branch of the World Poultry Science Association; and for six years he was the representative of the Queensland Egg Marketing Board on various government bodies responsible for overseeing poultry research and egg supply. In this context he was elected Chairman of the Queensland Chicken Meat Council, in an era which saw the rapid change and huge increase in chicken consumption on Australian tables.

In a letter that John wrote to me, following our meeting together in Goroka in Papua New Guinea where we both worked, in 1969, he said and I quote:

“My research in tropical nutrition of pigs, poultry and fresh water fish has been directed towards assisting the development of intensive industries in the Pacific Nations. In this context I have endeavoured to identify and use local materials, otherwise unsuitable for human consumption, for the establishment of sustainable poultry, pig, fish and other livestock nutrition, thus helping to eliminate the competition for often scarce food materials between man and domestic livestock; and to decrease the dependency of importation of prepared animal feeds into developing nations”.

In all, he published some 24 research papers on this crucial work of animal husbandry. These topics ranged from such erudite subjects as the use of “Ferrous sulphate as a detoxifying agent for mimosine for chickens”, through to a major paper (co-authored with Dr I.S. Burgess) entitled “Feeding Pigs in New Guinea”, to a significant paper on the husbandry of catfish and other freshwater fish in a paper entitled “Management and Production of Freshwater Fish” published in the Australian Veterinary Journal in 1972. He worked on the exploitation of otherwise noxious weeds and on the recycling of what would otherwise have been waste products as alternative feeds for poultry. In this context he published in 1974 another significant paper entitled “Grapeseed and Water Hyacinth as alternative feed ingredients for poultry”.

His most proud work was a small book on horseshoeing, which was published through three editions. It is believed by veterinary colleagues “still to be the most authoritative work on horseshoeing in the English language”.

A University Academic
One estimates that more than 40,000 graduating students of the University of Queensland, knew John Springhall as the University Marshall, through his role within the University Department of Ceremonies and Protocol. His meticulous personality and attention to detail, his military training, and his innate sense of the importance of occasion, made him the perfect choice as the University Marshall within the University of Queensland. In this role, from 1963 until 1975 and again from 1979 until 1982, he was responsible for the preparation and conduct of all University Ceremonials ? not only of all Graduation Ceremonies, but at the interface between the University of Queensland and its Vice Regal, National and International visitors; and its hosting and representations to politicians, diplomats and visiting senior dignitaries. He brought to this role a feeling of certainty and security that everything would always be conducted “just right and with due decorum”.

Everyone who knew Dr Springhall understood that he held, as a fundamental belief, the importance of maintaining priceless traditions which might otherwise thoughtlessly be cast aside and thus lost forever. I remember his telling me on one occasion that however many hundreds, even thousands that there might be at a graduation ceremony, each individual graduate remembered and identified personally with the traditions that were being followed; and that such applied to them as an individual and had meaning for them as an individual, irrespective of the crowds which were present.

A Commando
Private Springhall enlisted in the Second A.I.F. in 1941. He had been an outstanding schoolboy sportsman, and a keen participant as a rugby and tennis player, an athlete and rower and as a keen skier. It was with this background, and with his personality features of forthrightness, duty and courage, that he was to wear for four years on active service, the unique and proud bottle green beret of that elite brand of brothers, the Australian Commando.

He served as a commando for four years in the 2/6 Independent Company at Balikpapan and elsewhere in Borneo “behind the lines”. Very occasionally he would describe some of his experiences, in those times, operating perhaps in the most dangerous environment in which in which any soldier can fight. With his colleagues, he was active in demolition work, the cutting of supply lines, the destroying of enemy communications and in numerous ambushes.

In his retirement, Brigadier Springhall served in more recent times for more than 10 years on the Committee of Management of the Queensland Commando Association, together with colleagues who had also served in the Independent Companies, with the Coastwatchers and with those survivors who had served in the “Z Force” special units. In 2003, he was elected Life Patron of the Queensland Commando Association, a role to which he brought his forthright and vigorous personality and a total loyalty to his old comrades in arms.

His persona, as a fit and vigorous former commando, extended to many cognate themes that characterise that unique and proud group of soldiers. As a trained commando diver, John continued his interest in scuba diving, and was elected as the Medical Officer for the University of Queensland Underwater Club. He once wrote to me that “If you know Boyle’s and Charles’ Laws and CPR, nothing else matters!” In the great tradition of “derring-do”, exemplified by Australian Commandos, he also was a skilled
Tiger Moth pilot. In his proud wearing of his green commando beret, with its Coastwatchers’ and “Z Force” badge entwined, he exemplified that spirit of adventure which not only fought behind the lines but knew well both the undersea world and the domain of the sky.

A Military Leader
After the conclusion of the Second World War, John Springhall continued his voluntary service in the Citizen Military Forces. He was decorated with a military MBE in 1956. On promotion to Lieutenant Colonel he was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Queensland University Regiment and served for a triennium from 1962. In that era the Regiment trained every Sunday, and as the momentum for Australia’s deployment to Vietnam grew (from 1964), the Regiment grew in size to become eventually that of a full infantry battalion, albeit modified in its structure and training for its specialised Officer Training role.

After various senior staff postings he was promoted to Brigadier and appointed as Commander of 7 Task Force, based at Kelvin Grove in Brisbane. In this role he was also the Assistant Commander of the First Division; and as such was the Senior Army Reserve Officer in Queensland for the triennium from 1975. All of us who were privileged to serve under him remember his meticulous attention to detail and his fine leadership skills. He brought to that senior command position in the Australian Defence Force not only the experience and reputation of a former commando, and not only his service as a most successful Commanding Officer of our University Regiment, but the confidence and respect of one who had achieved at highest levels in his civilian professional career.

His role as a senior academic, his active service during the Second World War as a commando, and his manifest success in commanding the Army Reserve Brigade here in Brisbane in the difficult post-Vietnam era, led to his appointment as Honorary Colonel of the Queensland University Regiment in 1980. He served with distinction in that role for five years; and thereafter has been one of our most esteemed “Old Soldiers of the Regiment”. His consummate professionalism, his bonhomie, his loyalty and his preservation of tradition has made him a role model for many.

St John Ambulance Australia
One of Brigadier Springhall’s most proud roles was that of his service within St John Ambulance Australia. It was to St John that he brought a special enthusiasm and vigour, binding the drills and skills, volunteerism and leadership from his military career, to this esteemed civilian charitable body.

In the spirit of the Good Samaritan, but with his unique persona of up-front muscular Christianity, he has been a dominant presence in St John, both in Queensland and Nationally, for the past 35 years.

He was appointed District Superintendent in Queensland in 1969; and led St John’s uniformed Branch, then called the St John Ambulance Brigade, for a triennium from 1978. During his period as Commissioner to the St John Ambulance Brigade, he established the St John Recruiting Unit, the Direct Entry Officers Programme and the After-Hours Oxygen Delivery Service. This latter, a co-operative enterprise with Commonwealth Industrial Gases based at South Brisbane, provided an emergency “after-hours” oxygen delivery service for sufferers of breathing disorders throughout the Brisbane region. This innovation also contributed some important resources for the volunteer and teaching programmes of St John in Queensland.

One of his most important legacies was his foundation of the Community Care Branch of St John in Australia, in Queensland. He served as its first Chairman. In addition to this charitable work, he was the Ceremonies Officer for St John in Queensland (and for a period also Nationally) for some 20 years. In this capacity, he maintained the proud traditions of St John, with its ethos of voluntary service to the community in the context of acute illness and injury. The Order of St John - the secular Royal Order of Chivalry, which was established by Queen Victoria - occupied a special place in the last three decades of his life. He was decorated by Her Majesty as a Knight within this Royal Order in 1984; and he remained a fierce guardian of its traditions until his death.

Standards and Service
Each of us brings to this Tribute, our personal and individual knowledge of a person of outstanding and exemplary service. Each of us has our own memories of Dr John Springhall. His students, many now themselves leaders in the professions of veterinary science and animal husbandry in Australia and internationally, remember his special skills as a University teacher. They recall the “extra and personal” time that he spent with individual students, his personal encouragement and counsel, and the humour with which he coloured his lectures and tutorials. The former soldiers whom he commanded, at least eight of whom have gone on to Brigadier or General rank, remember him as a forthright leader in the tradition of the “soldier’s soldier”. All remember his life of exceptional and public volunteer and charitable service, that our society might be enriched.

What all of us remember is that in matters of principle, of tradition and of integrity, Brigadier John Springhall was always there, unflinchingly “up-front”. He has always been one of the first to draw a “line in the sand” if we strayed from tradition; and yet so often was the first to give praise and to encourage a junior or a colleague and say “well done”.

At his Tribute Service of farewell, we have come together as a collective witness to a unique Australian. We extend our sympathy to his wife, Mrs Janette Springhall and to his brother, the retired Sydney Surgeon, Dr Bill Springhall; and especially to his children - to Jane and Alan Nash and their sons; to George and Kim Springhall and their children; and to Katrina and Bruce Ferguson and their sons. We extend our closest thoughts and our sympathy to their husband, their brother, their father and grandfather. In addition to the love and affection held in their hearts and memories, John Springhall’s record is in the annals of the many bodies in which he served and to which he gave such exemplary service.

Esteem to his memory
 

Front Row Left to Right Brigadier Trevor Luttrell, Brigadier Tom Parslow, Major General Steve Golding, Major General The Hon Jack Kelly, Major General Dennis Luttrell, Brigadier John Springhall, Brigadier Sam Harrison, Lieutenant Colonel Garry Chandler Back Row Left to Right Colonel Rod Hamilton, Colonel Pat Shanahan, Colonel John Pearn, Colonel John Taske, Colonel Vlas Efstathis, Colonel George Kearney, Colonel Gary McLeod, Colonel Peter Rule, Colonel Peter Nicol, Colonel The Hon John Greenwood Photo taken 1 July 1994, (Ranks and titles as of the date of the picture)