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Obituaries

Sully

Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
Vale Willie Wonker!
Wonker.jpg
 
Sully

Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
Lovely statement from the family.
The MOST beautiful statement from Gene Wilder's nephew about Alzheimer's.
“We understand for all the emotional and physical challenges this situation presented we have been among the lucky ones — this illness-pirate, unlike in so many cases, never stole his ability to recognize those that were closest to him, nor took command of his central-gentle-life affirming core personality. The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, but more so that the countless young children that would smile or call out to him “there’s Willy Wonka,” would not have to be then exposed to an adult referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.
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Sully

Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
Chilla Wilson passed away on Friday. Chilla was Wallaby number 424.This from the ARU media release.
Charles Wilson.jpg
Charles Wilson.jpg

The Australian Rugby community is mourning the death of Wallaby #424 Charles Roy ‘Chilla’ Wilson, who passed away on Friday 2 September aged 85.
The former flanker played for Australia twelve times (including four Test matches) and captained the side in eleven of those occasions.​
Wilson was born in Ashgrove in Brisbane’s North on 4th May 1931, and learnt his rugby trade at Marist College Ashgrove before he moved to the great Queensland rugby nursery, Brisbane Grammar.​
At the University of Queensland, he studied Medicine and joined the University’s rugby club, with whom he won five Premierships.​
Chilla was first selected for the Queensland team in 1952, and made his second appearance some four years later when he played on the wing.​
Wilson served two years as an Army Medical Officer, and while playing rugby for the Army in 1957, he earned the call-up for his first Test for Australia against the touring All Blacks. He became the 424th Wallaby. While he failed to hold onto his spot in the squad following this game, he returned to the Queensland team where he was promoted to the captaincy.​
In 1958, he got his second chance with the Wallabies – this time as captain. He led an inexperienced squad which exceeded expectations, winning six of the matches on tour including a gritty 6-3 win over the All Blacks in the second Test.​
He was described by former Wallabies and Queensland team mate, Des Connor, as “a fearless breakaway who got to the ball first and put his body on the line. He was also an enormous copy-book tackler”.​
In the early 1960s Wilson moved to the United Kingdom to study, and when he returned he linked up with Wests Rugby Club in Brisbane and took on the role of captain-coach. He later became Queensland Manager and a state selector in 1968. He proved ideally suited to team and player administration and managed all of the Wallabies fruitful 1980s campaigns, including the 1984 Grand Slam and the 1986 Bledisloe Cup win in New Zealand.​
ARU CEO Bill Pulver said: “Charles ‘Chilla’ Wilson will go down in history as a character who helped shape rugby in this country.​
“His impressive Test career during the amateur era of our game, highlighted his commitment to our game and the gold jersey. His achievements off the field remain remarkable to this day, especially his contribution to the Wallabies last successful Grand Slam tour in 1984, as team manager.​
“Our thoughts are with the Wilson family at this time. Rugby has lost one of its greats."​
The funeral of Charles ‘Chilla’ Wilson will be held at 11.00am at the Great Hall at the Brisbane Grammar School on Gregory Terrace on Thursday 8th September. The wake will follow at the University of Queensland Rugby Club at St Lucia on the University of Queensland campus.​
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Sully

Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
Gold! Gold to Australia! GOLD!!!

Vale Norman May aged 88. The sporting voice of a generation of Australians.
 
cyclopath

cyclopath

George Smith (75)
Staff member
My late grandfather walked a round with Arnie many years ago as part of his work. Arnie got him to hit a few shots along the way (Grandpa even hit one closer on one hole! Not a bad tale to tell). According to him, Arnie was a true gentleman who had a real way with everyone. An iconic figure in golf, sport and life.
Vale.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Lindommer

Lindommer

Steve Williams (59)
Staff member
Vale Max Walker, at the relatively young age of 68, died of melanoma. Who could forget Max's convoluted leg action when running in to bowl, no wonder he was christened "Tangles". His achievements hypnotising chooks'll take some beating.....
 
Lindommer

Lindommer

Steve Williams (59)
Staff member
And now Leonard Cohen. How sad, how very, very sad. If there was ever a person who looked at life as a glass half full it would've had to've been Leonard: ripped off by his manager in the mid 2000s to the tune of $5mill he went back on the road in 2008. Rather than feel miserable about his circumstances Leonard took genuine joy in his second career in his (very) mature middle age. Just today there've been many who've said the most generous things about Leonard's concerts in the last decade.

As a shy country boy who spent six years at a strict boys' boarding school in Sydney getting out was akin to a balloon let go; I fell in with a well off lot of inner city bohemians and their eye-opening lifestyle. The music: I'd never heard of Leonard Cohen, some of the younger women described it as "music to slit your wrists by", but I sensed something more. The art film, McCabe & Mrs Miller with Warren Beatty and Julie Christie in their pomp (directed by Robert Altman), relied on Cohen's music on so many levels. It was a romance in a God-forsaken gold-mining shambles in California's 1860s set in the middle of winter, yet Cohen's music caressed the viewer's soul to such an extent it was a warm movie despite the freezing cold setting. A small snapshot, but so apt.

His music touched the souls of those who allowed their souls to be touched. Surely the ultimate definition of a life well lived.
 
Hugh Jarse

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Manuel, come here, let me explain.

He's from Barcelona <condescending>.

It's a HHHHHHHamster, Mr Fawlty.

What a great fall guy? Great memories. Sad to see comedic genius go.
I'm sure the Barcelonians are nothing like Manuel, but we all know someone like Manuel.
 
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