From Henry Bodman:

 Last Friday, Bill Welbourne and I met up at Bill Bergen’s funeral in Bathurst.

The ceremony was conducted in the local Catholic Cathedral and it took four clergy resplendent in their red cassocks to do the job ( and direct the traffic of people wishing to add their part to the eulogy segment)

Thoughout the ceremony a variety of music and musical groups played their farewells to Bill – all of whom had been effected by Bill’s participation and/or guidance at some stage. The Dutch community had its representative and, predictably, that contribution was very frank and direct (qualities which many speakers recorded as a major part of Bill Bergen’s personality. Certain grandchildren recorded that their grandfather had an opinion on everything and delivered that opinion regularly and often ….in short, there was none of the soppy , emotional comment which too often slips into this segment of funerals. (Having attended a funeral per week for the past eighteen months I claim to be able to comment in this way.)

The wake after the ceremony was conducted in a building which would have been at home close to Buck Palace (the Nuns’ quarters high on a hill…”Closer My God to Thee??”)

Significantly. At that function Bill W introduced me to part of the harem…the dancing part. So now we have two dancing parts and a Sue.

Watch this space!!!!!!!!

…….vale Bill Bergen