CBC Archives

You must sign in to leave a comment on this clip.

Man Alive: McClure in Borneo

Broadcast Date: Dec. 18, 1972

At 72, an age when most people are happily retired, the "irrepressible Canadian medical missionary" Robert McClure is still hard at work on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. In this hour-long 1972 episode of Man Alive, we learn all about McClure's fascinating experiences in Borneo. The doctor says he'll continue doing medical missionary work abroad for as long as he can: "As long as there is tread on the tire, one should not be afraid of the occasional road race."

Man Alive: McClure in Borneo

• Dr. Robert McClure was born in 1900 to missionary parents in China. He trained as a physician and surgeon at the University of Toronto and returned to China in 1923 to work as a medical missionary. He served as field director for the International Red Cross after war broke out between China and Japan in 1937.

• McClure's work took him to Gaza in the early 1950s, and in 1954 he became superintendent of the hospital at Ratlam, India.

• In 1968 McClure returned to Canada to take over as moderator of the United Church of Canada. He was the first non-ordained person to hold the post.
  
• After he stepped down as moderator in 1971, McClure continued to travel the world, practicing medicine in Borneo, Peru, the Caribbean and Congo, formerly known as Zaire. He also worked in an aboriginal community on the coast of British Columbia.

• Borneo is a large island in Southeast Asia containing Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. It is the third largest island in the world.

 • McClure was awarded the Man of the Year Peace Prize from the Lester B. Pearson Peace Park in 1985. He died in 1991 at age 90.

Man Alive: McClure in Borneo

Medium: Television

Program: Man Alive

Broadcast Date: Dec. 18, 1972

Guest(s): Robert McClure

Duration: 54:52

Co-production with Religious Television Associates (United Church of Canada)

Last updated:
April 4, 2011