"The keel of his strong beliefs and lifelong commitment to unionism and progressive worker activism was laid in Newcastle as a deck-boy during the Second World War. "Paul was a remarkable character, a working class man who dedicated his life to his beliefs and the ideals of a fairer and more just, peaceful and genuinely functional workplace, community, nation and world," Mr Crumlin said. MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin paid tribute to Paul. After this he was the caretaker for the SUA point Peron camps around 1996-2006
He became the Hedland trade union council secretary and ALP secretary soon after arriving and was appointed to the Hedland Port Authority 1985-92. He was asked by WA branch Terry Rawlings to move to Hedland to turn around the anti union movement and ensure the SUA held the tugs in 1978 and stayed 14 years until retirement. Sadly he lost his wife Trudy to cancer in 1989 but found a new love in Betty Liebeck in 1995 and they stayed together until the day he died. He had 4 children Dave, Dean, Trudi and Glenn and his 3 sons all went to sea. He married Trudy in 1951 and moved to Fremantle soon after but Shipped out of all East coast ports until later in the 50s when he consolidated himself in Fremantle. He shipped out of Newcastle in 1943 - when he was 15 years old and joined "the Seaman's Union of Australasia". His brothers Eddie, Chris, Bernie and Mike (deceased) were all seafarers and his sister Patsy was a Nurse. Paul Richard Summers was born in Newcastle in 1928 to Tom Summers, a pommie seafarer who jumped ship, and Mary Cambell, a Nurse. The funeral for Paul Summers will be held at 2.30pm at the East Chapel, Fremantle Cemetery Thursday 16th February 2012.
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