Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I wish to mark the recent passing of a larger than life constituent, a friend and a mentor who was also a tenacious and a passionate person. His passing has left his family without a devoted and loyal husband and father. John Broadhurst was that person.

John's life began in a little terrace house in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, in 1938. He remembered his childhood during a time of war, vividly recollecting spending his nights sleeping in a cellar and listening to the bombs drop on the iron-and-steel works in Shelton. After leaving school, John worked in his parents' pub while attending night school, where he studied accountancy. He did national service in the army—the infantry—but he was demobbed after a year because his feet were too big and they couldn't find shoes big enough to fit them. Many who have crossed his path over the years, I'm sure, will have found his shoes too big to fill.

John's love of children encouraged him to set up youth clubs, where he coached seven- to 21-year-olds in how to prepare speeches and play sport, from soccer and netball to even table tennis. His work ethic was best identified through his passion for the hotel industry, the love of which he inherited from his parents. At the age of 21 he took over a new pub of his own in Bass Worthington, which had only 1,500 homes under private ownership. John and his then wife became the youngest pub managers in the UK.

John, with his boxer dogs, emigrated to Australia in 1966, first working in Brisbane for a new Japanese crane manufacturing company, Kato cranes. He went on to become the president of the association of Australian crane manufacturers and distributors. John's commitment and passion over 12 years led him to become the general manager of the manufacturing plant for Kato cranes, before he was adopted by Coles Cranes, a British company that manufactured in Australia.

John's love, passion and talent for golf saw him devote his time at Windaroo golf club as the president from 1987 to 1990. Even when John decided it was time to retire, at the age of 65, he volunteered in my first ever campaign and was instrumental in my success. His advice, encouragement and mentorship were very important to me over the years. After the election, John was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a version of leukaemia, and he went through chemotherapy and overcame his battle.

Although John had a love of pubs, boxer dogs and cranes, it never outweighed his love for his wife, Helen, and his daughter, Cathy. He was a great man who will be sorely missed by his community, and he will always be remembered. May he rest in peace.