Goulburn loses great character in Wendell Rosewarne

Wendell Rosewarne reflects on cancer challenge and a sporting life

Wendell told Cr Kirk he wanted to be remembered as a “commoner” or an ordinary man who had “done a bit of good.”

“What a cracker,” the Mayor quipped.

It struck Cr Kirk that Wendell had done a a great deal of good, whether on his annual Pollie Pedals he completed on a postie bike with no gears and faithful dog Monty on board, while forming a firm friendship with Tony Abbott, who became Prime Minister.

Or it could have been his 800km bike ride in 2008 to raise $30,000 for people suffering cerebral palsy, his visits to aged care facilities, fundraising for Goulburn’s new indoor pool or a multitude of other involvements.

Sport was his mainstay, well into his sixties when he marked his 409th game for the Goulburn Hawks AFL side.

Cr Kirk said he first met him in 1967/68 when he also played for the Hawks. By that stage Wendell was in his thirties.

“He was the busiest guy on the field. He’d run around like a blow fly and chased the ball from one end of the field to another with boundless energy that annoyed everyone, simply because he was the goer,” he said.

Wendell told Cr Kirk that he was never the best at any sport but he always gave them a go.

And there were many to his bow. Long-time Goulburn Hawks and Goulburn Swans AFL player, president and committee member Steve Armstrong said Wendell played cricket, tennis, squash and was heavily involved in the Goulburn Cycling Club and local runners club.

“He was a fabulous cricketer and went on a Collegians tour to the Caribbean in 1968. He was instrumental in a few of the winning games,” he said.  

Mr Armstrong and another longtime member and past president of the Hawks and Swans, Gavin Halder, met Wendell in 1983. The former well remembered his first training night at the Hawks. Wendell brought along his dog, Monty to training.

“All I could hear was the blokes saying ‘get out of Monty’ as he got underfoot,” he said.

“Wendell went with the flow and his dogs went everywhere with him.”

While he was never “the most skillful player, his fitness, tenacity and willingness to never give up was his mainstay.”

Mr Halder recalled Wendell’s accident on his pushbike several years ago when a car ran into him. He suffered multiple injuries and spent considerable time in hospital but he recovered to participate in more charity rides

Wendell’s profile was legendary, with A Current Affair doing a program on his longevity in Aussie Rules in 1992. People came from everywhere to watch the game that day, Mr Armstrong said. Wendell played more matches after that, only retiring in 1998.

He was made a life member of the club in 1981. But he also had numerous other sporting achievements to his name. He was awarded the Australian Sporting Medal, was selected for the Queen’s Baton Relay for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and carried the Olympic torch as it passed through Goulburn in 2000.

Both Mr Halder and Mr Armstrong have collated his extensive memorabilia and sporting collection. Cr Kirk said a special display would be mounted in Goulburn’s Sporting Hall of Fame and the council would find another way of honouring him as well.

Mr Armstrong said Wendell had greatly appreciated the chance to talk to people in the last weeks of his life. He and Mr Halder were regular visitors.

“Despite us knowing him since 1983, the last four weeks was special to him and it enlightened us. We learnt about his ideals. He did everything to the best of his ability,” he said.

“Everyone was equal in status to him, whether they were the Prime Minister or the person on the street.”

And everyone had a nickname.

Wendell was named after the poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, his mother had told him.

Mr Armstrong looked up his poems and found one titled ‘Contentment,’ reflecting enjoyment of the simple things in life. He read it to him and Wendell loved it.

“It was always the simple things. It described him to a tee,” he said.

Wendell is survived by his sister Mary, sister-in-law Yvonne and his many nieces and nephews. Funeral arrangements are being finalised.