Page 2049 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 21 June 2011
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understand it is from the pews of the old Boorowa church—the ultimate recycling, old Catholic Church to the boardroom table for the business centre. It is a beautiful table. And when you sit and look at it, the beauty of the wood and the previous life it had before it became that table have not been eradicated. But that was Jim. He saw an opportunity and just made it happen. And it happened so often in the community and people do not know that it did.
We acknowledge that the Chief Justice has remained and that most of the Assembly members are still here. I think the importance of that today is that you, Terry Higgins, as the representative of the community at large, remained. But that is the sort of effect that Jim Murphy had. And it is very important that people know about it.
Somebody said they do not know where Jim is now. Let us reflect on the funeral. There were 26 priests, there were three Catholic bishops, there were two bishops from other faiths, there was a clutch of Buddhist monks, there were nuns, there were representatives of the other churches. This is a man whose faith was not shallow. Mention was made of his Irish Catholic heritage. This was a man whose heritage allowed him to be something great, not something boxed in and insular. And I think it is fantastic that all those people turned up.
Unfortunately, when you go to funerals—and I have been to a few funerals—there are many people there. But I have never seen so many people at St Christopher’s for a funeral. Perhaps the funeral for Brother Mark May from Marist would have been the same. But the number of people that actually went to the cemetery was just sensational. It was past 4 o’clock; it was bitterly cold. But there were tears, there was laughter, there were smiles and there were hugs. They wanted to be there for him.
Later at the stadium—and I thank the stadium for hosting the function—the people came. The people stayed. The people celebrated the life of a bloke who, when you looked at him, was just ordinary. But that greatness shone through.
There were some images that night that perhaps should not be mentioned, particularly the one of Jim in a white T-shirt and a weightlifter suit. It is not a visual I think I want to see. I see Margaret laughing. I am sure it is not a vision Margaret wants to see too often. But that was the guy. He was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen. And he did make it happen, as Zed and others have said. He actually made things happen. Whether it was in Rugby League, he made it happen. Whether it was in the Irish-Australian business community, he made it happen. Whether it was in his own business, he made it happen.
You skip out of that trauma—and Chris spoke of it this morning—and that step you make when you are buying your first business. He did not buy it. He set it up from scratch. “I think I could run a wine business.” You could hear all his mates saying, “Mate, you are a prop.” “Yes, but I think I could run a wine business.” “Mate, you are a prop.” But he did it and, as Zed said, he outlasted the competition. He has the respect of a community that it is very hard to get the respect of. It is a pretty cutthroat community. But what he carved a niche out on was fairness, on service, and making sure he did the right thing. Again, I go back to the Irish Catholic nature of the man and fairness.
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