John Lambie

03 February 1941 – 27 September 2025
PMG, Carnarvon

John Lambie at one of the consoles in the Carnarvon Apollo extension, June 1967. Click for the full picture.

John Lambie was born in Scotland in February 1941.

His parents had met at the Rolls Royce establishment in Hillington, just west of Glasgow during the War. John’s Dad was a foreman engineer and both were involved with the production of Merlin engines for the Spitfire.

1940 Scotland. Bessie and Robert Lambie – John, Millar and Carol’s mum and dad.

1946 Hillington Scotland. A young John Lambie wearing his Scottish kilt.

In 1948, Robert and Bessie, with their two sons, John and Millar (11 months younger than John) decided to emigrate to Australia.

They sailed from Tilbury Docks east of London onboard the SS Mooltan, a newly-refurbished P&O passenger vessel which had been used to carry troops during the war, arriving in Fremantle in January 1949.

December 1948. Mum, Dad, John and Millar boarded the SS Mooltan at Tilbury docks. The deep port of Tilbury is situated on the River Thames 20 miles east of London. Image via Millar Lambie.

Perth Boys’ High School – image via Millar Lambie.

John and his brother attended primary school and then high school in Perth. In his story for this website, John relates,

“I graduated from Perth Boys High School in 1956 with a good ‘Junior Certificate’ pass.

Our form teacher, Mr Rudeforth, had prepared us, and had encouraged the class to sit as many external exams as possible. Over the Christmas break a number of job offers were received in the mail, viz; Junior Clerk in the Commonwealth Bank; Junior Clerk, West Australian Government Railways (WAGR). Technician-in Training (TiT) Post Masters General (PMG); TiT Department of Civil Aviation; and Cadet Draughtsman with the Lands Department.

I accepted the first offer in the mail, from the PMG Department, and started work on January 07 1957, along with 95 other fresh-faced schoolboys as ‘Technicians in Training’. …”

This was the beginning of John’s 40-year career with the PMG and its successors. Just a few months after starting with the PMG, Sputnik 1 was launched.

1959. John’s love of MG cars, shared by his brother Millar, dates to well before his move to Carnarvon.

In 1963, John was appointed as Senior Technician, based at Carnarvon Telephone Exchange, and this was the beginning of some fascinating years in that remote location.

His training, in preparation for going to Carnarvon, included three weeks’ training on M28 Teletype. The main reason for this is that John would be looking after the M28 Teletypes at the soon-to-be-built NASA Carnarvon Tracking Station.

John was in Carnarvon 1963-66, and returned briefly to conduct some training in 1967.

A Model 28 Teletype reperforator at Carnarvon in November 1965.

John Lambie’s MG Magnette on the 26th Parallel. Transparency: John Lambie.

John recalled arriving in Carnarvon for the first time:

“I can still remember arriving in Carnarvon, passing through the ‘Welcome to Carnarvon’ arch (gifted to the town, and originally installed across Adelaide Terrace in Perth for the Royal visit of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh).

We drove down Robinson Street through the town, marvelling at the width, wide enough for camel trains to U turn. At the end of the street we reached the Fascine. Not very impressed as the tide was out and all we saw were mud flats. We turned and headed for Tuckey’s Port Hotel and checked in, and then retired to the bar for a cold beer.”

 

The very wide Robinson Street, Carnarvon, looking south-west, towards the Fascine. At left: Wesfarmers, grocery store, Main Roads Department, Fong’s Carnarvon Drapery. At right: BP service station, Alexandra Street and Tuckey’s Port Hotel. Photo by Hamish Lindsay, 1965. April 2022 scan by Colin Mackellar.

 

Although he was based at the exchange, John spent the first few months installing teleypes and other equipment at the tracking station.

In December 1963 John took this photo of the first sign to greet visitors to the tracking station. Transparency: John Lambie.

The UHF Command Antennas A and B, December 1963. In the distance the T&C Building stands on the rise, with the Gemini Acquisition antennae being installed to its left. The quonset hut used to store cables etc. during installation is visible in front of it. Transparency: John Lambie.

At the request of Station Director Lewis Wainwright, John was on hand at the tracking station during missions and important simulations and was a valued member of the team.

John was on hand to see the visit of Astronaut Wally Schirra in Carnarvon 8th-9th March 1966. Here, Wally (centre) is drying his hands after leaving his handprints in wet cement. Transparency: John Lambie.

Prior to the commissioning of the Overseas Telecommunications Commission’s 42-foot Casshorn at the northern end of Brown Range in late 1966, John helped out in various ways, as outlined in his story. (The OTC Satellite Earth Station was established to provide more reilable communication between the NASA station and the USA.) 1967 transparency: John Lambie. Scan: Colin Mackellar.

John was at Carnarvon for the erection of the Collins Radio 9 metre Unified S-Band antenna and the extension to the T&C Building in preparation for the Apollo lunar landing missions.

The Apollo 9 metre USB antenna under construction. Transparency: John Lambie, November 1965.

His family visited for the official opening of the Apollo extension in 1966yc.

The Lambies. L to R Millar & Pamela, Mum, younger sister Carol, Dad, John – At Carnarvon NASA tracking station in 1966, apparently for the opening of the Apollo extension. Thanks to Millar Lambie.

Millar Lambie, John Nugent and Millar’s wife Pamela at Carnarvon Tracking station 1966. (Pamela was secretary for Wilson Tuckey at the Shire of Carnarvon.) Thanks to Millar Lambie.

In all this time, John’s work as Senior Technician at the Carnarvon Telephone Exchange continued. He had many trips into the surrrounding remote areas for work.

John, with his PMG van, trailer and camping equipment. Undated but early. Transparency: John Lambie.

Travelling in the bush included helping out fellow travellers. Here’s a mail truck bogged on the side of the road, with John’s PMG van parked behind. May 1966. Transparency: John Lambie.

John, with his PMG van in the background, at Shark Bay. Transparency: John Lambie.

John made several visits to the lonely outpost of Hamelin Pool, near Shark Bay, where Mrs Lillian O’Donahue and her husband ran the post office and manual telephone exchange. (Read the story about them here.) Transparency: John Lambie.

One of the highlights of the Carnarvon calendar was the Tropical Festival in September. Here’s one of John’s photos:

The tracking station’s float in the Carnarvon Tropical Festival featured a foot-powered Gemini spacecraft (GT 11 1/2) chasing an Agena Target Vehicle. This is possibly the 1966 festival. Transparency: John Lambie.

John Lambie in the control room at the Gemini Capcom position. “I maintained the three cabinet mounted teletype RO machines. They were always giving trouble as they had sprocket feed paper and came off the platen at an acute angle. If they were pulled roughly they would jump the sprockets and jam. I spent quite some time during missions behind the cabinet withdrawing to reset the paper, until a fix was implemented.”

John made many good friends during his time in Carnarvon. Notable among them were Pete Peterson (the on-site UNIVAC representative, John Nugent and Trevor Housley.

By far the most significant, however, was meeting local school teacher Karin Krupa, whom he would marry.

John and Karin in February 1966. Scan: Colin Mackellar.

John and Karin were members of the official party at Pete and Vee Peterson’s wedding in Carnarvon.

The Peterson wedding. Left to right: Pete and Vee Peterson, John Nugent, Vee’s sister Lynn, John Lambie and his fiancée Karin Krupavicius (aka Karin Krupa). Photo: Hamish Lindsay. Scan: Colin Mackellar.

Pete Peterson, John Lambie and John Nugent. Photo: Hamish Lindsay. Scan: Colin Mackellar.

Around late 1964 / early 1965, John and friends John Nugent, Trevor Housley and Pete Peterson had the idea of establishing a coffee lounge in Carnarvon. It would be the Gemini Coffee Lounge. They were aided in the project by John’s brother Millar.

Click the image below for John’s story.

Read John’s story of Carnarvon’s Gemini Coffee Lounge.

John wrote, “I returned to Carnarvon April 1967 to conduct a two week training course on the model 28/M35 Teletype equipment. Examining a M28 typing reperforator. That’s me in the centre, Terry Creighton PMG technician on right. My replacement PMG Senior technician to the left.” This photo, the one below, and the photo at the top of the page were likely taken on the same day.

John testing teletype output signal waveform. 1967.

John’s love of cars – specifically MGs – followed him through his time in Carnarvon and long afterwards.

John’s fiancée, Karin, in Pete Peterson’s MGA. Note the new Carnarvon plates have been changed from Millar’s UHP973. (Pete had bought it from Millar.)

John greatly enjoyed restoring MGs – his first project was this 1954 MGTF –

The 1954 MGTF – in pieces. John and Karin were living in Karrinyup at the time.

John in the chassis of the 1954 MGTF which was his first restoration project. August 1975.

John and Karin in the finished project – their beautifully restored 1954 MGTF. Photo thanks to Millar Lambie.

Karin and John at a Carnarvon reunion, held in Waneroo, Perth, for the 35th Anniversary of the First Lunar Landing, 2004. Photo: CROTrack.

John and Karin bought a farm in Lower Chittering, a few kilometres from Muchea. There, John continued his work of restoring MGs.

He also worked to keep the local community aware of the legacy of Muchea Tracking Station. He wrote several articles for the local newspaper, The Chittering Times.

Severeal years after “John Glenn Park” had been established in Muchea, John noticed that the signs were fading. He lobbied and worked with the Chittering Shire Council to see the signs replaced and the facility upgraded.

And when the major Muchea Industrial Park and transport hub was being proposed, John wrote to the West Australian government to suggest names for some of the streets to be developed. While there was little by way of reply, the three roads around the complex clearly honour the legacy of Muchea – Canaveral Way, Mercury Rise and Verlort Drive. This is most likely thanks to John’s endeavours.

John with a large lunar globe at the State Library of Western Australia, 28 September 2024.

John with a display of Hamish Lindsay’s Carnarvon photos at the State Library of Western Australia, 28 September 2024.

“With my good mate John Nugent (Univac 1218). John was Groomsman at my wedding with Karin. Barbara King on the Teletype 35.”

John Lambie with the UNIVAC 1540 tape drive at Carnarvon in early 1967.

Learn more in these pieces written by John for this website –

Much more could be said. John Lambie is remembered as a good friend, and a wonderfully enthusiastic advocate of preserving the history of Carnarvon Tracking Station.

_________

With thanks to Millar Lambie for many of the photos and all his help.

Scans of John’s transparencies by Colin Mackellar.