Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on the life and achievements of a great friend of mine, Philip Noel Eastick, who died at the Royal Adelaide Hospital on 11 February 2010. I think it was the American essayist, Ralph Emerson, who said, ‘The years teach much which the days never knew’. It is true that we learn things that only the experience of years can teach us. There are joys to be drawn from the passing of the years but there is also sadness too. Chief amongst the sadness is saying goodbye to good friends who pass away before us.

My friend, Phil Eastick, died at the relatively young age of 55. Still, in those short years Phil achieved more than many and his achievements will benefit his fellow South Australians into the future. They were achievements he was scarcely known for at the time and achievements that he did not seek to attribute to himself. My hope is that this speech this evening will place Phil’s achievements on the public record in the nation’s Hansard.

Philip Noel Eastick was born in the Hutchinson Hospital in Gawler, South Australia on 8 August 1954. Phil’s father is Dr Bruce Eastick, a veterinary surgeon who also served in the South Australian parliament for many years as the leader of the Liberal opposition. His mother was Mary Dawn Marsh. Phil attended Gawler Primary School, Gawler High School and Adelaide University, where he studied law. It was here that I first met Phil and we formed a lifelong friendship that lasted until his recent death.

It was during his time at Adelaide University that the spotlight came up on the music industry for Phil and his law studies faded to black. Phil left university before graduating—I suspect much to the distress of his parents. Phil quickly earned a reputation for hard work, initiative and for being the sort of person you could rely on to get the show on the road. His reputation led him to being engaged by many of the leading bands of the day—and you will remember some of these, Madam Acting Deputy President Moore—Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Hush, MacKenzie Theory, the La De Das and Sebastian Hardie, to name just a few.