Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to acknowledge the death two weeks ago of Thomas Leo Sweeney and to place on record my condolences to his family and friends. I first met Tom Sweeney some 20 years ago and had many conversations with him over a long period of time. Indeed, he served as the chairman of my federal electorate council for a number of years. Tom was an impressive and forthright man with a clear direction, a love of family and friends and a very clear set of values.

Tom Sweeney was born in Brisbane in 1929, the second of six children, the son of Tom senior, a journalist and a rugby league international, and Mary. He was educated at St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, where he excelled as an all-round sportsman. On finishing school, his father found him a job as a technician in the engineering faculty at the University of Queensland. This led to a long, industrious and illustrious career as a civil engineer.

But first of all, Tom was a champion sportsman: the captain of the school's first XI cricket team, a six-times Queensland open men's high jump champion—he jumped off for selection in the Olympic Games—an A-grade tennis player and a golf player with a near-scratch handicap. He was also competitive at gymnastics, basketball and even table tennis. But it was as a fullback on the rugby union field that he achieved his sporting fame—initially with his beloved Brothers Rugby Club, then representing Queensland and eventually the Wallabies. He toured South Africa with the Wallabies in 1953, representing his country 15 times, including in the first Test. The following year, he played against the Fijians and was selected for the Wallaby tour against the All Blacks. Sadly, broken ribs sustained in a typically courageous tackle on a very large Fijian kept him out of the tour. Shortly thereafter, a knee injury ended his rugby career prematurely at the age of 24.

While continuing to work at the university, he also worked part time for Channel 7 as an on-air sports commentator. It was there that he met a young choreographer and dancer on the Bandstand show; she was named Carolyn Yule. Their wedding was big news at the time in Brisbane, with a front-page picture in The Courier Mail. The couple thereafter moved for Tom to start work as an engineer on the Snowy Mountains scheme—something which is topical at the present time, Mr Speaker—with his expertise in metallurgy, acquired at university, being a valuable commodity.

There they started a family of six children, with Tom working six days a week and then spending every spare hour playing games with his children. Tom always said that, despite everything else he had done, his proudest achievement was his children. He rejoiced in everything all his children did and achieved.

The collapse of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne brought the family to my city for what was supposed to be a two-year stint, but it became permanent. Indeed, Tom became the chief resident engineer on the reconstruction of the West Gate Bridge and saw this    magnificent project through to its completion.

After retiring from work, he remained very active in politics—in my local electorate, in particular—as well as with golf and his continued love of rugby, particularly with the Melbourne University Rugby Football Club.

In the end, he passed away peacefully holding his wife's hand. He is survived by siblings Damien and Germaine; his wife, Carolyn; five of his six children—Matthew, Luke, Mary Ellen, Rebecca and Tom—and his adored eight grandchildren.

In his eulogy, his son Tom said:

In this era, when it seems that fame and public admiration are increasingly obtained with fewer and fewer substantive and worthwhile attributes, Tom was someone who lived a life defined by strong values, absolute integrity, the pursuit of excellence in all things and an unfailing loyalty and devotion to family that were the values that defined him.

He used to tell his children when they were young that we are all just a set of attitudes. We didn't listen, but of course he was right.

He was truly someone who has left a wonderful legacy and the world a much better place—for the things he built, for the standards he set and for the family he raised.

Mr Speaker, vale Tom Sweeney. May he rest in peace.

See this speech in context