Thank you for joining us today to celebrate Malcolm’s life.  Apparently dad left strict instructions that I wasn’t to go on for too long today … so here goes …

As Malcolm has gradually faded from us, every time we saw him something of the real Malcolm would appear. It is this Malcolm who we want to remember today – the Malcolm who was a genuinely good bloke – caring, committed, generous, true and hard working. But when the family think of Malcolm we think of cheeky, mischievous, always quick of wit and ready to laugh. … well, maybe not so much when he was rounding up the sheep…

Malcolm was born in Quirindi in 1934 and was the third child for Doris and Walter. Malcolm’s siblings Moya and Ian are with us today, and Valmai is up there with dad watching down on us – he probably has her timing my speech. It is so wonderful to have their families with us today. Dad’s father died when dad was only 24 and he took over running “Aubourn Vale” with Doris. In the same year they lost the family house in a fire and lived for 6 months in a caravan and tents (this may help explain dad’s aversion to camping!).  But, things were looking up as on the scene was a good looking brunette from Walcha. Margaret had moved to Quirindi to work at the Bank of NSW. Mum’s co-workers quickly nick-named Malcolm - LBW – Lover Boy Wallabadah!  Mum and dad married in 1960 and along came David and me a couple of years later.  Whilst I went away to uni and went over to the dark side to city life, David always wanted to stay on the farm. He and dad developed a close working relationship. Mum and I used to laugh that they seemed to have telepathic communication which mum and I were not in on. I remember also, that dad didn’t like to spend much time on detailed instructions … like the time when I was about 10, he and I were in the land rover, he pulled up alongside the tractor he wanted to drive home. He put the land rover in gear, jumped out and said  “ here Bill,  steer it home!” I could just see over the windscreen! Kristy tells me he did the same thing to her when they were feeding the sheep!  Kristy commented that he had a unique method of teaching you to drive …

Dad was always heavily involved in community work – my childhood memories are of him coming in from farm work – having dinner and a shower and out the door to various committee meetings. As an adult I appreciate how much effort that took after a day working on the farm. He has left a legacy in Wallabadah and Quirindi involving the church, the P&C, the tennis club, the local show (they even named a pavilion after him) and 27 years on the council. And it was with great pride that we went off to government house in 1999 to see him awarded an Order of Australia Medal for all his community work. The farm was sold in 2005 and Margaret and Malcolm moved into their house in Quirindi. Mary recalls mum telling dad that if he didn’t get out and sign up for some retirement activities she would introduce him to housework. Suffice to say he was suddenly booked up.

The whole family always remember dad as the prankster. My cousin Julie and I spent a lot of time together as kids.  We were in dad’s office watching a horror movie on a little tv in the corner of the room which was next to the window. Dad was working at his desk. As the plot thickened and the music got tense … Malcolm slipped out of the room – just as Dracular was about to sink his teeth in to some poor victim, Malcolm pops up outside the window with the torch under his chin doing his best horror movie evil chuckle! Julie and I nearly went through the roof and Malcolm is outside laughing so much he had tears coming down his face …

There was the inaugural camping trip in the back paddock with our city friends.  Malcolm decided to demonstrate farming life by bringing a mob of sheep through the campsite at 5:45am!! I still remember struggling out of the tent to see a tsunami of sheep and Malcolm sitting on the motorbike, shoulder’s shaking with laughter …

David recalls the time he and a group were out searching for the dingo which was savaging the sheep flocks between our place and Castle Mountain. David, Alan Pyne and others decided to camp out to try to track the dingo. As they left, dad said to David, make sure you leave the radio on in the Toyota. Later that night, when the camp had settled in, dad gets on the CB radio and lets out his best dingo howl – which apparently sent the camp into frantic action … until they then heard another howl, quickly followed by Malcolm’s giggling … at this point they realised, oh, it’s just flaming Malcolm!

He was a brilliant grandfather to Kristy, Tom, nick, Joel and Lachlan. He spent hours with them on the farm and they loved being with him. The kids have fond memories of him taking them for motorbike rides, listening to classical music and waving his hand like the conductor.  Tom remembers “driving” the tractors sitting on grandpa’s lap.  When Malcolm dyed his hair pink and yellow to raise funds for the cancer council – he convinced the kids the yellow and pink hair-do was permanent! My boys remember grandpa showing them videos of me as a kid riding the postie bike - except that he ran the video backwards and told them I was an extreme postie rider! A favourite line of his, no matter where we were driving was “we’re lost”.  We were sad that dad’s great-grandson William didn’t get to see this funny grandpa.

So dad, shoulder’s shaking with laughter, tears running down his face will always be one of our main memories of him.

I am so proud of everything he achieved and that even when his memory faded, he never lost the politeness and his sense of humour. I remember one day a few years ago we took dad out on a drive – Joel was on L-plates and was keen to drive. At this stage Malcolm didn’t really know who we were, and he wasn’t talking much this particular day. But when we got him in the passenger seat – he took one look at Joel in the driver’s seat and said dryly “we’re all going to die!” with a big grin. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the family and friends who have been amazing support network for mum and dad. David and I and our families really appreciate everything you have done. To mum, you have been a pillar of strength and I am so proud and humbled by your love and dedicated care for dad.

And finally (yes Malcolm – I’m almost done) Mum, David and I would also like to take this opportunity also to thank the staff at Eloura who looked after dad so brilliantly – you are amazing people.  We really appreciated all you did for him.

I’ll now hand over to my cousin Paul to say a few words about Uncle Malcolm.