Willie Phua Tin Tua
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| Willie Phua Tin Tua | ||
|---|---|---|
 'Uncle Willie' and his trusty CP-16 film camera |
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| Born | February 26, 1928 | |
| Birth place | Hainan Island, China | |
| Circumstances | ||
| Occupation | Photojournalist | |
| Other names | Uncle Willie | |
| Spouse | Cindy Phua | |
| Children | 1 | |
| Notable relatives | nephews Sebastian Phua(deceased); Joe Phua, Picture Editor (BBC) |
|
| Ethnicity | Chinese | |
| Notable credit(s) | ||
| Agent | Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) | |
Willie Phua, or Uncle Willie is a notable news cameramen who is known in the news world for his feature works reporting poignant moments in history. Phua came to Singapore with his family when he was five. During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, the youth slipped curry puffs to prisoners-of-war. It was also then he made first contact with Australians.
He was a salesman at Singapore's Amateur Photo Shop, before becoming a freelance cameraman in the early 1960s with Singapore TV and Visnews (now Reuters Television) and Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).[1]
His years working on risky assignments for the Corporation, he captured many images of wars and uprisings, economic 'miracles' and social upheavals, and the rise and fall of dictators with his trusty CP-16 camera. His work became Australia and the world's window on Asia. Among the many memorable images he captured were those of a lone bag-carrying demonstrator confronting PLA tanks during Beijing's Tianamen Square uprising in 1989. It was to become the symbol of the whole brutal episode. Phua felt his life had been blessed, as he had many close calls to death in his photojournalist career. Like one time a Vietcong ambush came upon him while filming a German documentary aboard a South Vietnamese patrol boat in the Mekong Delta in 1971.[1]
For everything else, his formula for success in getting the right scoop lies in the planning on how to seize the best vantage point. For instance, Phua spent much of his time getting access to a block of flats in order to get a good elevated shot of the prison in order to cover the news of the hanging of two Australian traffickers in Kuala Lumpur in 1986, for ABC. He also attributes calm and reasoning wit to getting things to work his way, especially towards handling brushes with authorities.
In November 1996, Willie received the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to ABC and for making 'a significant personal contribution to teaching Australians about our northern neighbours'.[1] The award was presented by New South Wales Governor Gordon Samuels. In 1993, Phua officially retired from his news-hunting days.
[edit] Quotes
- He taught us civility, diplomacy, a touch of humility and to accept that other people had to retain face.' In other words, the essentials for covering the region. -- Peter Munckton, ABC correspondent who covered the Vietnam War news.
- Here you had a gifted cinematographer with a keen eye for news, steeped in the history of his working environment and all its sensitivities, willingly moulding and protecting a string of young, ambitious Australians on their foreign assignments. -- Paul Lockyer, ABC correspondent
