To all the sensual world proclaim,
One crowded hour of glorious life
Is worth an age without a name.
Sir Walter Scott
This year is the tenth anniversary of the death of Phillip Plibersek in Port Moresby in October 1997.
To commemorate Phil’s full rich life, I would like to bring together stories, photographs and other memories from a variety of people who knew him.
Phil made friends easily, and his friends and colleagues around the world have fond memories of him as a fun, generous, adventurous man. Because his friends and family are spread in so many countries, I’d like us to be able to read each other’s accounts of Phil. I’d also like us to work together to create a lasting tribute.
You could include:
Your name and contact details
When, where, how you met Phil
Your fondest memory of Phil
Photographs
Stories about good / bad times you had together
Things that drove you crazy about him
Quotes from letters / cards he wrote to you
Favourite music / pass times you enjoyed together
How your world has changed since his death; what makes you think of him
Anything else you think tells something of his character.
I’d really appreciate it if you could send this request on to anyone who knew Phil. The more contributions, the better.
11 comments:
Jaz se ga spominjam kot veselega, pozitivnega in optimističnega fanta, avanturista, ki je bil zaljubljen v motorje. Ko je bil na obisku pri nas v Sloveniji, je takrat iskal najbolj vijugaste ceste za vožnjo z motorjem. Žal sem ga imel priložnost srečati in kramljati z njim le dvakrat.
My name is Stewart Burns
Ph 0458190459
I live in Cessnock now
I went to school with Phil.
We used to call him "pineapple" because of all the p"s in his name.We went to Jannali Boys High.Phil was a million laughs some of his jokes endure to today and i tell them to my kids .I had a red Datsun 1200 coupe and along with Peter Davis we would often go to the movies(usually R rated.
My favorite memory is driving back from QLD with Phil and the radio was not working so he thumped the dash and his fist went thru it -not funny at the time.Phils taste in music was alternative mostly.I remember going to a double J wednnesday night concert up the cross at a young age.For some reason i find myself thinking about phil almost daily and wonder what he would make of things .This is despite the fact we lost touch after school.
Just remembered one of the connections with Phil was that we had the same birthday 19th april.
Stew
I was trawling through some photographs and found two of Phil. I worked along side Phil as a geologist on Misima in New Guinea. I will never forget his infectious personality and sense of adventure. Being several years his junior, I was, and still am, totally in awe of him.
We had many adventures together in PNG. One of my photographs shows Phil leaping off a 22m high limestone cliff into the ocean.
I can forward these photos on - contact David Stanton - enviromap@optusnet.com.au
Ph:0447822119
Remember sitting in my car 40 years ago with Phil listening to first double j transmission .Goodtimes
Phil was like the big brother we all wished we had. He was a warm, generous person, and a lot of fun. He gave me a lift in his Range Rover once and it was like a meeting of minds, we talked about everything. Phil was open to life, a rare quality, and I miss him often.
Hi. I lived with Phil in a share house in Brisbane in the mid 80s. He was a great guy who just emanated a joy in life. Our other housemate told me of his death. I was profoundly shocked. He had a huge love of independent Australian bands, and brought a large quantity of them into our house. He had the best come on line ever: I am a pilot - would you like to go on a flight with me? I last saw him in Melbourne in the late 80s when he came down to visit after I'd moved there. He's easily one of the most easy going people I've ever shared with, and his loss saddens me greatly still.
Plib and I worked together as young geologists in Parkes NSW during 1984. We also played soccer for the local pub. He was big strong and fast but it ended there. Probably the worst "header" of the ball I ever played with.
His commute to and from Parkes every two weeks or so was via a green Alfetta death trap or a very sexy Ducati. Dressed in his black leathers and helmet he looked to be straight out of a Bond movie.
I never figured out if Plib had no understanding of social norms - or if he chose to ignore them. One example was in early 1984, soon after arrival in Parkes, Plib decided the local radio station played rubbish and was completely out of step with the Sydney music just a few hundred kms to the east. So he wrote a letter to the radio station volunteering to take over the Saturday night 9pm to midnight slot and play the sort of music that needed to be played. I was with him when he received the polite reply declining his offer; he was genuinely bemused and could not inderstand why he had been rejected, he was just trying to help.
The winter of 84 was brutal; often freezing overnight and only a few degrees during the day. Us geologists got an informal competition going; seeing who could stay in shorts the longest. We had to work outside so this became rather a challenge. We would wear two pairs of socks, numerous layers of T shirts, jumpers and jackets,beanies and fingerless gloves - and shorts. Come the 4th of July it started snowing in Parkes; while nearby Orange and Mt Victoria were snowed in for several days. My mate Ross Corben and I finally succumbed and went home to put on trousers and long johns. Plib took the win with grace - and stayed in shorts for the rest of the winter.
Tanya he often spoke of you; no doubt he was proud of his kid sister - you must have been in your teens?
It was a shock to hear of his murde; he was such a unique ccharacte; always smiling and joking around; someone I will never forget.
Plib and I worked together as young geologists in Parkes NSW during 1984. We also played soccer for the local pub. He was big strong and fast but it ended there. Probably the worst "header" of the ball I ever played with.
His commute to and from Parkes every two weeks or so was via a green Alfetta death trap or a very sexy Ducati. Dressed in his black leathers and helmet he looked to be straight out of a Bond movie.
I never figured out if Plib had no understanding of social norms - or if he chose to ignore them. One example was in early 1984, soon after arrival in Parkes, Plib decided the local radio station played rubbish and was completely out of step with the Sydney music just a few hundred kms to the east. So he wrote a letter to the radio station volunteering to take over the Saturday night 9pm to midnight slot and play the sort of music that needed to be played. I was with him when he received the polite reply declining his offer; he was genuinely bemused and could not inderstand why he had been rejected, he was just trying to help.
The winter of 84 was brutal; often freezing overnight and only a few degrees during the day. Us geologists got an informal competition going; seeing who could stay in shorts the longest. We had to work outside so this became rather a challenge. We would wear two pairs of socks, numerous layers of T shirts, jumpers and jackets,beanies and fingerless gloves - and shorts. Come the 4th of July it started snowing in Parkes; while nearby Orange and Mt Victoria were snowed in for several days. My mate Ross Corben and I finally succumbed and went home to put on trousers and long johns. Plib took the win with grace - and stayed in shorts for the rest of the winter.
Tanya he often spoke of you; no doubt he was proud of his kid sister - you must have been in your teens?
It was a shock to hear of his murde; he was such a unique ccharacte; always smiling and joking around; someone I will never forget.
Sadly this year is 20 years since Phils death. I still can't believe that I will never play backgammon again with him on the medium strip of South Dowling Street.
Wendy (his wife)
My name is Peter Davis. peter.davis@isolthermics.com.au
I now live in Brisbane, but for 18 years or so in Oyster Bay and Jannali and later at Uni, I was a school mate of Phillip. So was Stew who posted a few years ago. We were not best mates, but rather good mates. We did a lot together, and yet, we were so different. I didn’t like his music taste. He was quirky, I reckon. We called him Pineapple, or Phlub, but mainly Pineapple. All his school mates did. I guess it was because Plibersek was difficult to spell or remember. When we went to Uni I told everyone to call him Pineapple. He hated that and later pulled me aside and told me he was wanting to lose that name. Sorry Pineapple, but that’s what mates do! We did interesting things. One day we walked up the whole stair case of the UTS building – all 28 floors. Just because we could. We discovered that the door to the roof was unlocked. We went and got a heap of computer paper – the huge dot matrix sheets – and made big paper planes and flew them off the top of the building and watched them fly down into Ultimo and on toward Pyrmont.
On the way to Uni we sometimes caught the same train from Como station. In winter I remember standing on the platform in the cold and wind in shorts and shirt waiting to be the last one to flinch. Phil said you had to breathe in and follow your breath all the way around your body and down to your toes. That way you would not feel the cold.
One weekend we went to Parkes to stay with some of his geo and uni friends. One of the guys up there needed an engine for his car and Phil said he would take it up and asked me to come over to help before we left. How are we to do this, I asked? We lifted it into the boot of the mighty green Alfasud and off we went. Simples!
Hard to believe it is nearly 20 years – you are still fondly remember Pineapple.
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