Even those who knew Dick Murdoch well couldn’t have predicted he’d be late to his own funeral.
The strains of Frank Sinatra’s My Way filled a packed Williamstown Town Hall on Wednesday last week to farewell the former mayor of Hobsons Bay.
Then came the first eulogy – from Mr Murdoch himself, his voice booming from the speakers in a pre-recorded message.
Mr Murdoch, who could never be described as punctual, joked that the congregation may have noticed the service started a couple of minutes late so people could “call me the late Dick Murdoch”.
The community stalwart died on March 3, aged 78, after a long battle with cancer. Mr Murdoch detailed his life’s path in his eulogy and spoke of what a great place Williamstown was to grow up in and how much he appreciated people and the community.
DICK MURDOCH’S CASKET ADORNED WITH A SCARF OF HIS BELOVED SWANS.
He won a teaching scholarship after finishing year 11 and spent his life teaching in the western suburbs, ending his career as a principal.
He was elected to the former city of Altona in 1992, served as Hobsons Bay mayor from 1999-2000 and served on the council until his retirement in 2004.
Mr Murdoch was a life member of Newport Baseball Club and the Probus and Lions clubs of Altona, and was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for community service in 2006.
He said in his eulogy: “I’ve enjoyed every minute of my earthly existence. They were all good days; just some were better than others.” His younger brother, Peter, then gave a eulogy, noting Dick’s national service in the navy, where he incurred the scorn of other Nashos for having an easy time playing in the brass band.
He mentioned his brother’s love of football, particularly his beloved Swans, and his little quirks.
“No matter what the state of the game he always liked to leave at the 20-minute mark of the last quarter so we could ‘beat the rush’,” Peter said. “We often had to wait until we got home to see who’d won.”
After the service, mourners went to Newport Baseball Club to continue the tradition of placing a beer in the diamond for a lost member.
Mr Murdoch is survived by daughters Beth and Susan and partner Jenny.
