Chips Rafferty

Chips Rafferty, (John William Pilbean Goffage) was born 26 March 1909 at Billy Goat Hill near Broken Hill, New South Wales. Prior to his career in acting, Rafferty was (among other things) an opal miner. He worked at Lightning Ridge in 1927 and 1928. This experience later informed his contributions to the 1948 radio feature Australian Walkabout: Lightning Ridge, where he appeared alongside author Ion Idriess.

Before entering the film industry, Rafferty worked a variety of jobs including shearer, drover, fisherman, miner, boundary rider, and windmill mechanic. He began acting in 1939, gaining recognition for his performance in Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940). He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941 and continued acting during periods of leave, appearing in several wartime productions.

After the war, Rafferty became known for leading roles in films such as The Overlanders (1946), Eureka Stockade (1949), The Phantom Stockman (1953), and Walk Into Paradise (1956). His film career continued into the 1960s with roles in both local and international productions, including Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and They’re a Weird Mob (1966). He gave his final and most critically noted performance in Wake in Fright (1971), filmed in Broken Hill.

Rafferty was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1971.

He died on 27 May 1971 at the age of 62. He was cremated, his ashes scattered at sea.

Article: Research by Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: A Journey With Colour: A History of Lightning Ridge Opal 1873-2003, Len Cram, 2003, p. 174; ‘A Walkabout on the Opal’, ABC Weekly, vol. 10 no. 35, 28 August 1948, p. 16; ‘Chips Rafferty and Ion Idriess in The Story of Black Opal’, Centralian Advocate, 27 August 1948, p. 7; Blue Plaques program, Heritage NSW; ‘Chips Rafferty’, Australia Screen; T. Green, ‘The Legend of Chips Rafferty’, National Film & Sound Archive.