Charlie Stewart loved dogs and sheep, and on a grander scale it was as a vet caring for horses that he was the most obvious winner. Many horse owners became friends, appreciating his expertise and honesty. The latter quality was clear from his declining to perform and charge for procedures he considered a waste of money and time.
Bryan Cousins was one owner who blessed the day he got to know the man 25 years ago.
Charlie, he said in a tribute at the memorial service, was much more than a lover of animals. “He had the greatest intellect of anyone I have known, yet he made difficult things seem simple. He cared about the world. Climate change is a huge issue today, but 30 years ago he started years of research on the subject. Only 12 months ago he gave me a copy of the fully referenced paper, a 50-page document.”
Bryan, as well as being a former top-level footballer, has trained a lot of pacing horses. “Charlie got great satisfaction from his clients’ successes, irrespective of whether it was a large stable or a one-horse trainer.”
Charlie’s paper covered the effects of aerosols and gases. He chose to inform and reform, without nagging. In his early years, after studying at Muresk Agricultural College (now Muresk Institute), he won a scholarship to do a doctorate at Cornell University in New York State, one of the most prestigious Ivy League institutions in the United States.
His sister Wendy recalls the family being “totally engaged by his myriad stories, including detail of how he had to operate on a parrot worth $28,000”.
Charlie, she added, started school at Helena Valley and then did well at Bellevue Primary, which is now Clayton View Primary, and went on to Governor Stirling Senior High School. “He showed easy facility with maths and science, but difficulty in meeting the expectations of tests in English.
“Prior to his final exams, our parents banned him from playing a school football final because he might hurt himself. The final was against Northam, and those matches were always a bit of a bloodbath. They also fretted that he might be too sick to do his exams after he totally lost his voice because of a home chemistry activity gone wrong.”
Plenty in Charlie’s life went right. He certainly preferred his nickname to his given names, Brent James Stewart, eldest of four children of Pat (nee Parker), an ex-journalist who also wrote for books, and Robert (Bob) Stewart. Bob had a son, Peter, from a previous marriage, who died in 2021.
“The nickname,” Wendy adds, “was given at an early age and adopted in all parts of his life after returning from work in the Northern Territory, counting crocodiles by shining lights at night.
“Our dad was a farmer and shearing contractor and expected his kids to work hard and set an example. Although he employed workers, he often had us children do tasks, like giving sheep injections and drenching, as he always had the animals’ welfare in mind. As well as tending to cows and sheep, there was always a lot to do on our three farms, such as clearing land, ploughing and fencing. We lived on the Helena Valley farm, and our family had properties at Chittering and Muchea.”
After qualifying as a vet, Charlie also wrote for journals related to his profession.
In 1981 he married Jane Whittaker. The marriage, which produced a son and daughter, ended in divorce.
There could be no greater endorsement of Charlie’s equine skills and commitment than to hear Fred Kersley, doyen of horse training in WA, praise his skills and relish his friendship.
‘(Charlie) didn’t say much, but his knowledge, intelligence and authority were second to none.’
“One in a million was Charlie,” he says. “Didn’t say much, but his knowledge, intelligence and authority were second to none. He trained a few horses too, though that was more of a hobby. We knew each other for about 40 years.”
For the last decade, Charlie had treatment for skin cancer, and stopped his vet practice at the end of 2022. He eventually entered Gordon Lodge, a care home at the Royal Australian Air Force Association premises in Bull Creek.
Charlie died on January 14, survived by his daughter Jenni Mason, son Ben, granddaughter Willa and grandson Ernie; and by his sisters Gay Tierney and Wendy Doyle. The youngest of his siblings, Malcolm, died in 2018.
Hundreds attended Charlie’s funeral in Fremantle. There was no shortage of stories about the man who spoke little but impressed so much.
One friend, Louise Crosbie, a horse owner, says Charlie “regularly treated my accident-prone thoroughbred, Henry. It’s a testament to his skills as a veterinarian that old Henry (now 27) has somehow outlived Charlie.”
The Stewart family reckon Charlie’s greatest fan was his sheepdog, Jumble. When he returned home from university studies in Queensland, Jumble was transformed from sad and subdued into the happiest animal imaginable. His tail wagging, he followed his master around and slept under his bedroom window. His best friend had returned.
Dr Charlie Stewart
Vet and researcher
Born: Midland, 1951
Died: Perth, aged 72
Source Agencies
