Fr David Strong SJ, The Australian dictionary of Jesuit biography 1848-2015, Second Edition, 2017:
Buxton, Bryan

Teacher and pastor; born Melbourne, 29 December 1913; died Young, NSW, 4 April 1992, aged 78.

Bryan Buxton was the eldest of three boys and one girl and received his early education with the Christian Brothers at St Kilda, 1926-28. At Xavier College, 1929-31, he laid down the groundwork of scholarship and firm friendships that continued life long.

He joined the Society at Greenwich, NSW, 19 May 1932. His Jesuit studies in philosophy and humanities were carried out as one of the pioneering generation at Loyola College, Watsonia, 1934-38, and at Canisius College, Pymble, in 1939. During philosophy he founded The Canisian and wrote for local Catholic newspapers. In 1940, he graduated BA honours from the University of Melbourne, specialising in English literature and Latin. He taught at St Aloysius College, Sydney, 1940-43, and was remembered for his kindness. Theology studies were at Canisius College, and he was ordained in 1947.

After a year at Newman College, he completed his tertianship at Watsonia and then began a career working in university colleges. He was dean of students at Newman College, Aquinas College, Adelaide, and St Leo's College, Brisbane, 1954-61. While in Adelaide, 1951-52, he was also the 'Christian' chaplain at the University of Adelaide. In 1962 he returned to Adelaide as rector of Aquinas College until 1969. In 1970 he went to the Federal Capital as minister to the scholastics studying at the university in Canberra. Then, after two years as dean at St Thomas More College, Perth, he returned as dean to Aquinas College for three years, 1974-76. In all these appointments, administration was not his forte.

Buxton was 'naturally irenical and actively ecumenical' and befriended university staff and residents alike. He gave an air of priestly courtesy and dignity to any gathering he attended or arranged. He had considerable personal charm, admirable regularity, and just the sort of affable superiority and slight vagueness that combined to cut him out as a figure of affectionate legend. He was well known for his great difficulty remembering the names of people and for his absentmindedness.

Buxton had an abiding love for literature, writing and culture. His vignettes for radio on Polding and Ricci were creative and enlightening, while his writing was simple, sturdy and expressive.

In 1977 he began parish ministry, first in Queensland, which he enjoyed. Here he played tennis for exercise and cared for budgerigars. From 1982, living at Xavier House, Canberra, he moved to many centres in northern Queensland, rural NSW, and coastal resorts, South Australia. He also acted as chaplain on the Island Princess, as far as New Zealand. He had special warmth for the old, the frail, and the bereaved that brought them close to him, and him to them. Originally, his move to Canberra was to build up the writing apostolate in the province and to write the history of the tertiary apostolate.

Somewhat shy by temperament, Buxton was completely unflappable, with good human tolerance. He was not a competitive man, but full of common sense, good-humoured, witty, and a caustic critic of pretence and flamboyance. He was always the Christian gentleman. He had a sense of leisure, and was a good comrade, secure in himself and above all pettiness. He had a wide and catholic range of human interests. Perhaps significantly, he was an expert sailor, having participated regularly, and especially in Adelaide, in small yacht sailing and racing. He was a lover of nature, and his daily walks were enjoyed. He always liked gardening, and, of course, his dogs, the two magnificent Gordon setters. Buxton was a generous soul, a courteous and dignified colleague, much loved by his family.

(Reproduced by permission of Fr David Strong SJ.)