AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2009
Fed: Australia farewells the wealthy, the brave and the old
By Doug Conway, Senior Correspondent
SYDNEY, AAP - Richard Pratt, Ted Kenna and Jack Ross - Australia lost one of its wealthiest
citizens, one of its bravest and its very oldest in 2009.
The nation also farewelled a trio of big names in showbiz - Bud Tingwell, Ray Barrett
and Don Lane.
Here is a chronology of notable Australians to pass on this year:
* Jan 13: Aviation pioneer Nancy Bird Walton, 93, in Sydney. She was taught to fly
as a teenager by Charles Kingsford-Smith in 1933, she became Australia's first commercially
licensed female pilot two years later and went on to pioneer an air ambulance service
for outback NSW. So it was fitting that she found her final resting place in the sky,
her ashes scattered from a Tiger Moth over a Hunter Valley museum that showcases her achievements.
She was remembered by former Sydney Airports CEO Tony Stuart as "an inspirational Australian
whose infectious enthusiasm, true blue grit and commitment to helping others touched all
who met her".
* Feb 7: Newsreader Brian Naylor, 78, at Kinglake, Victoria. A fixture on Melbourne
television for four decades, Naylor was among 173 people who died in Victoria's Black
Saturday bushfires, along with his wife Moiree. He was remembered by colleagues as a great
communicator and smooth talker but, sadly, remained estranged from his son Greg, excluding
him from his $20 million estate after a battle over a documentary production company.
Naylor was famous for his TV sign-off: "May your news be good news".
* April 6: Rugby player Shawn Mackay, 26, in hospital in Durban, South Africa, eight
days after being struck by a car. A life cruelly cut short had tears streaming down the
faces of pall-bearers at his Sydney funeral, including his brother Matt, his best friend
and former Wallabies vice-captain Morgan Turinui, and his ACT Brumbies captain Stephen
Hoiles. His uncle, John Worley, said in his eulogy: "As we all know, rugby is the game
they play in heaven, and we know who will be captaining the side."
* April 12: Anti-corruption stalwart Frank Costigan, 78, in Melbourne. He was appointed
in 1980 to chair a royal commission into corruption and criminality on the Australian
waterfront, but it went on to encompass organised crime and widespread tax evasion, exposing
the infamous "bottom of the harbour" schemes. One alleged criminal linchpin was nicknamed
in the media the "Goanna". Australia's richest man, Kerry Packer, later admitted he was
"Goanna" but denied all the allegations against him.
April 13: Sir Marcus Loane, 97, the first Australian-born Anglican Archbishop of Sydney,
who served from 1966 to 1982. Current Archbishop Peter Jensen described him as a remarkable
leader who spoke up for the poor, served both church and nation, and offered leadership
which "transcended politics".
April 28: Businessman Richard Pratt, 74, of prostate cancer, in Melbourne. The multi-billionaire
cardboard king, the nation's fourth richest man, was overseer of his Polish family's packaging
and recycling group Visy, which was created to supply cardboard boxes to fruitgrowers
in Shepparton in the 1930s. The former actor, who loved to sing If I Were A Rich Man,
became one of Australia's most generous philanthropists. Some dirty laundry involving
his private life was aired in 2000 when it was revealed he had a mistress, Shari-Lee Hitchcock,
and a daughter from that union. But his conviction for price fixing in 2005 caused him
most grief. He remained a much-loved figure, and trucking magnate Lindsay Fox said after
visiting his sick-bed: "As many men as women would have shed a tear inside."
May 13: Actor Charles "Bud" Tingwell, 86, of prostate cancer, in Melbourne. He couldn't
say no to battler Darryl Kerrigan in the hit movie The Castle when, as the retired barrister,
he donated his legal expertise to save a family home. And he didn't say no in real life.
He did not believe in turning down any part unless there was a very good reason. Which
is why he made 143 film and TV appearances over seven decades. They ranged from black
and white TV cop shows like Homicide to mini-series such as Changi and All The Rivers
Run, guest spots on The Sullivans and Neighbours, and feature films like The Castle, Puberty
Blues and Breaker Morant. He also flew 75 reconnaissance missions over Europe as a WWII
pilot. His son, Dr Christopher Tingwell, said: "I was prouder of him being a Spitfire
pilot. That fitted the bill more of a hero."
June
3: Soldier Jack Ross, 110, in Bendigo, Victoria. He was Australia's oldest man
and last World War I digger, though he never saw active service after enlisting in the
final few months. A family friend ascribed his longevity to "good luck, good living, good
eating and no booze". Victorian Premier John Brumby described Mr Ross as a figure from
an age that, regrettably, had passed. "We don't make people like Jack Ross any more,"
Mr Brumby said. "But we should."
June 5: Cancer surgeon and TV doctor Chris O'Brien, 57, after a three-year battle with
brain cancer, in Sydney. Australia came to know him through his regular appearances on
the Nine Network's reality medical program RPA, which offered a window on his daily triumphs
and sorrows. "The show was never supposed to be about clever doctors showing off their
skills or individual surgeons demonstrating a
new or tricky operation," Prof O'Brien wrote
in his 2008 memoir Never Say Die. "It was all about the patient's journey - the difficult
decisions, the discomfort and pain, the worry, heartache, and even grief." Neurosurgeon
Dr Charlie Teo called him "the great gold standard by which most doctors judge themselves".
July 8: Soldier Ted Kenna, 90, in Melbourne. He was Australia's last surviving Victoria
Cross recipient from World War II. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called him "the stuff of
legend" and his mates called him a bloke who liked a beer and a bet. He earned his VC
in northern
New Guinea in 1945 for a stunning few seconds of "magnificent bravery", when
he almost single-handedly knocked out a Japanese machine-gun post. In full view, he emptied
his Bren gun from the hip then called for a rifle to finish the job. An old friend, Major
General Gordon Maitland, said: "He recognised the stature of being a Victoria Cross holder,
but he sought no glamour, no reward. He wore it with empathy and he wore it for all of
those who fought with him."
Sept 8: Actor Ray Barrett, 82, on the Gold Coast, from a brain haemorrhage after a
fall at his home. Barrett appeared alongside Graham Kennedy in the screen adaptation of
Don's Party, and won an AFI best actor award for his role in Fred Schepisi's The Chant
of Jimmie Blacksmith. His last major part was as Ramsden in Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia.
Playwright David Williamson described Barrett as the consummate actor, saying: "You couldn't
take your eyes off him."
Oct 22: Entertainer and TV compere Don Lane, 75, in Sydney after battling Alzheimer's
disease. Known as the "lanky Yankee", the
New York-born nightclub act hosted a Tonight
show which once made him Australian television's highest paid and most popular performer.
He is credited with nicknaming his partner Bert Newton "Moonface". Lane won 16 Logies
including a gold. When he was inducted into the Logies hall of fame in 2003, the former
US military draftee quipped: "The last time I was inducted to anything I ended up in the
army for three years." Lane was farewelled at a showbiz funeral where stars like Helen
Reddy, Barry Crocker and Jon English relived something he left in abundance - memories.
AAP dc/jnb/de
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