Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is my sad duty to inform the House of the passing away of both Brian Hurn, who was the mayor of the Barossa Council, and a another notable identity in the mid-north, Reg Rawady. Brian 'Bunga' Hurn was a great cricketer and footballer. The ABC and other news organisations have talked about just how great a test cricketer he was, and he was a great footballer as well. Of course I knew him once his sporting career was over, so I only really knew about the exploits of both his son, William, who played 135 games for Central District, and his grandson, Shannon, who plays for and captains the West Coast Eagles. They both inherited Brian's nickname of Bunga, the origins of which are unknown—apparently they derive from Brian's salad days during his youth.

I knew Brian as the mayor of the Barossa and we did many good things together. He obviously did more good things than I did in his time as the mayor of Barossa, just through his length of service both as a councillor and as mayor. I always appreciated his wise counsel and I always appreciated his kind words whenever we were at community events. We got on very well. I once gave him a set of House of Representatives cufflinks, and I know he collected cufflinks and he was very happy to receive them. I have very fond memories of opening the Gawler to Tanunda bike path with him. It was a moment of great celebration for the community and that bike path probably should have a statue of Brian on it somewhere, because he really was a great citizen of the Barossa Valley. We mourn his passing.

Reg Rawady was a deli owner in Kapunda. He came from Lebanon and, like so many immigrants in this country, somehow found himself in Kapunda in the mid-north and he opened up a great continental deli. He was a great citizen and a great character and I have very fond memories of Reg, of him running the deli in Kapunda, in the main street. We all used to go there and do our shopping. It was really a mixed business in the true sense of the word. He gave greatly to Kapunda, my home town, not just through his role as a businessman but also through the local theatre. We can remember the productions that he put on all through my youth, through the high school and the various theatre companies in the town. So we do mourn Reg's passing. He did great service to the town of Kapunda, and I know there is a great deal of mourning going on in Kapunda but also a great deal of celebration for his great life.