Simon the Gardener – RIP – 28th of March 2006

Simon the gardener passed away last night in Angau Hospital. I have only just found out and have already shed a tear or two. One of my 1st PNG friends in Lae and a man I would describe as a true survivor.

The above photo is the last photo I took of Simon and was taken a couple of weeks ago at home after a “hard” days work. On the days that he worked we would sit down after I got home and we would have a coffee together, we would sit and talk for a while.

Simon was born in Tari (Southern Highlands) and in 1962 lost most of his right leg after a serious infection. It wasn't until 1969 that he come to Lae and had a wooden prosthesis fitted. He has lived in Lae ever since. My understanding is that he has lived on campus for the past 23 years.

During his time on campus Simon tended to the gardens of many ex-pat academic staff. He would also wash the odd car and put peoples bins out on garbage day. Simon was a bullshit artist but funny enough he was also a man I learnt to trust.

I'm going to miss Simon. I'm going to miss his wandering passed my place of an evening on his way to finding some buai or just wandering over to what he referred to as the Wantok haus. I'm going to miss his bullshit and stories. I will miss man and friend.

The last time I saw Simon was on Saturday evening. He wandered past my place on his way home after visiting his wantoks, I was sitting outside with Eli. I gave him a smoke and he gave a couple of buai. I liked Simon – although he was always asking for something he also gave from time to time.

Simon was also one of my Tok Pisin teachers and for the past year we always conversed in his language. Simon could also speak Motu, his own Tok Ples and I believe he also had a command of a few other languages.

For the past few years he had lived with my Team Leader : Leonard and his wife Linda.  Two emails were sent around this morning by Leonard announcing the sad news.

These two emails follow:

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Simon, the gardener with the peg leg, died last night.

On Sunday he was sick with what looked like malaria, so my wife gave him some Chinese malaria medicine.  On Monday morning he was sicker, so she took him to the Uni clinic.  He was given an injection.

On Tuesday (yesterday) he was sicker still, so she took him to the clinic again.  The nurse decided he should be taken to Angau.  They took him to the hospital by ambulance.

This morning my wife called the hospital to see how he was doing and was told that he had died during the night.

Does anyone know if he has wantoks in the area?  We are going to pay the fee to put him in the morgue for a week, but if no wantoks are found in the area, we will have him buried at the end of week.  We do not know where his home area is.

Linda and Leonard

Further to my previous email.

Monday night/Tuesday morning we could hear him coughing a lot.  Yesterday when he was at the clinic he was still coughing and there was blood in what he coughed up.  They asked for a urine sample, and there was blood in his urine.  So, the nurses were not sure whether he had malaria or kidney trouble.

Last night he was put on a drip, but during the night he took it out.
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Simon,
you will always be remembered
as a friend, a survivor and a true PNG man.
Who will tend to my garden now that you are gone ?
You will be missed.
Farewell my brother.