JOHN TREVOR PATTEN
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Champion boxer, rugby player, Elder
Born: Sydney, NSW, June 13, 1936
Died: Shepparton, April 15, 2020
When he was at the top of his game John Patten had a problem: he couldn’t get anyone to step into the ring and take him on.
He won the Australian bantamweight boxing crown by knockout in 1958 but would be forced to give up the belt after four years and little title defence action because no-one in the division wanted to risk a pounding.
His fight record speaks for itself, but a different, tantalising but sadly unfulfilled unknown remains: how good a rugby player could Patten have been if he had not already contracted his boxing skills to Stadiums Limited?
In the 1950s he was one of the hottest young prospects with the Rabbitohs at South Sydney, captaining their under-21 side and being offered a seniors playing contract (when his nephew Wes was playing for the Rabbitohs, Patten was very proud someone in the family was finally able to do it, his son John Jr said).
Patten was a scion of the Yorta Yorta and Bundjalung tribes, a fierce competitor who would strike at lightning pace and had the ability to end the careers of lesser beings in the ring. He won 29 bouts fighting as Johnny Jarrett (in honour of his stepfather Joby Jarrett, to thank him for his support) — 24 of those by knockout.
For his many fans, that is how he will be remembered after losing life’s final round at the Rumbalara Elders facility last month.
Patten was also a survivor of the Stolen Generation.
Born in Grafton, NSW, to John and Selina Patten, he was taken from them as a toddler and placed at Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home.
There, he was soon located by his father, who emancipated him from the home and they quickly went south to Barmah, to be near family at Cummeragunja.
“Living in that area allowed Dad to connect with his family, perhaps more than he would have,” his son John Jr said.
“His case of being broken out of home is the only one that I’ve heard about in my life,” he added with pride.
Fighter, footballer, First Australian and father, Patten was also a great believer in the power of education. He repeatedly travelled a 1000 km round trip between Newcastle and Lismore for a couple of years to complete his associate diploma of business (small business) management.
“I remember the story made it onto the front page of the Koori News,” John Jr recalled.
“It was a degree he worked at for many years, making all those trips to Lismore — he was extremely proud of it.”
Patten was also a fighter outside the ring and played a big role in the community during his life. He was a fighter for Aboriginal rights — just like his father — and an advocate for people in court.
“Dad wanted to help people wherever he could,” John Jr said.
“He volunteered a lot of his time because his love for the community.”
A fighter from the get-go, Patten's ring-craft took him to the Philippines where he fought out of his weight; he later told his family it “really tested” him.
Despite being brutal in the ring, Patten was the opposite in family life.
“It was the most important thing in his life,” his son said.
“He was always willing to put himself out for others. He was such a generous, caring person.
“One thing I’ll always remember was how he hated being called ‘Jack’. The males in our family share the name John, but Jack is a nickname.
“He would almost hide under the table when someone called him that. Those are memories which will live with me forever.
“We were very fortunate to have him as our father.”
Shepparton became home for Patten in the final two years of his life; he relocated to the area after his wife Margaret — who he married in 1978 — died.
And the family will never forget the support he received until the very end.
“We’re very thankful to the staff at Rumbalara Elders,” John Jr said.
“We’re grateful that we had the opportunity to say goodbye to a wonderful man.”