Wayne’s world

By Ed Merrison
TRIBUTES have poured in for a recently deceased Ferntree Gully man whose passion and influence transcended the confines of his wheelchair to touch hearts across the globe.
An internet connection to the wider world has meant the life of geology and emergency services enthusiast Wayne Johnston, who died aged 33 after opting to forego further treatment on his failing kidneys, has been celebrated from the Foothills to the far reaches of the USA.
Mr Johnston was born with spina bifida and paralysed from the waist down but, according to Washington State Division of Geology and Earth Resources (DGER) magazine editor Lee Walkling, that did not stop him from participating in the world.
For the past three years of his life, Mr Johnston’s fascination with geology, particularly volcanoes and tsunamis, had led him to be a volunteer for the Washington Geology Library.
A keen advocate for the disabled in hazard mitigation and planning, Mr Johnston had happened across the DGER publication TsuInfo Alert on the net and continued to send articles to Mr Walkling.
“He had the time and interest to do the research as an unpaid but much appreciated volunteer,” Mr Walkling said.
Mr Johnston’s mother, Shirley, who moved to Ferntree Gully with her son in 1988, said the internet was Mr Johnston’s “Melway to the world”.
“He had an incredible ability to find people who could tell him what he wanted to know,” she said.
But Mr Johnston’s skill extended to sharing information, not only in the field of geology but also in his other major passion – firefighting and the emergency services.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) commander and OzFire community member Ian Hunter said the internet gave Mr Johnston, known affectionately as Wheelchair Wayne, a chance to meet people from all walks of life and to stimulate his active and inquisitive mind.
“He had a natural and almost uncanny ability to sense when people needed information and put them in touch with those that could assist; what’s more they always seemed to be the leading experts in their field,” he said.
Ms Johnston said her son’s interest in firefighting stemmed from witnessing a house fire as a child and realising he would be unable to get out of bed to escape such an emergency.
She explained to her son how the firefighters would take care of him, sparking an interest that would last with Mr Johnston up to his self-planned funeral, which took place at Ferntree Gully Fire Station in April and was attended by members of both the CFA and MFB.
Mr Johnston’s coffin was draped with the CFA and MFB palls, the latter usually reserved for past and present firefighters and long-serving corporate staff.
Firefighters formed a guard of honour and transported his casket to the cemetery on a vintage fire pumper provided by the Fire Services Museum.
According to close friend and International Firefighters’ Day founder Lieutenant J. J. Edmondson of Clyde Cardinia Fire Brigade, Mr Johnston was always in communication with the international firefighting community.
“Wayne may not have been able to physically be a firefighter, but he had a firefighter’s spirit, passion and compassion, which made him a truly wonderful human being who will be sorely missed by not only his family and friends but also his firefighter friends from all over the world,” Ms Edmondson said.