Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to inform the House of the death of a great Australian, Ross Anthony Presgrave, of Forster. Born in Sydney on 16 July 1937, Ross passed away on 23 April 2012 at the John Hunter Hospital. How do you put into words what is in your heart, your feelings and your emotions? When I first met Ross Presgrave in 2001, it was abundantly clear that he was a man of passion and commitment, touched by a personal family experience with cancer. Ross was determined to do something for those who were doing it tough. Always standing up for the underdog, Ross was known never to do anything by halves. When Ross set out to build the biggest branch of Diabetes Australia, he had an ulterior motive: Ross was preparing to build the Forster Beach houses, a place for the kids and their families that had done it tough. Nothing would stop him.

In 2003, as the then chairman of the Forster-Tuncurry branch of Diabetes Australia, Ross was recognised for his efforts and selected as the inaugural Paterson Citizen of the Year. The award was presented by then Prime Minister John Howard, and it was an award Ross that cherished so much.

Over the years, Ross Presgrave raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Forster-Tuncurry community. He was also involved in diabetes education and awareness campaigns in the Great Lakes community. When he took plans to build the four beach houses to Diabetes Australia, he was let down despite repeated assurances. However, Ross would not be beaten—and so the journey continued along a slightly different path. With the help of Adam Sherman, the then owner of McDonalds at Forster, the die was cast to build the four Ronald McDonald Forster beach houses and, even through the various battles, Ross brought the project to fruition.

As I said during my eulogy:

So many of you here today would have been touched by the Holy Spirit, but everyone here has been touched by Ross, either financially or otherwise.

He was just that kind of guy. He was able to muster financial and community support; cheekily, he was a regular visitor to your wallet. Ross organised events, such as the Wimbledon at Forster tennis match, to raise funds for the beach houses. He hatched plans, cooked up schemes and achieved community support, all in the name of a good cause. When Tony Abbott, the then Minister for Health and Ageing, and his Pollie Pedal team made the mistake of turning off into Forster, Ross wasted no time and was into him for money—and he succeeded. It was never for Ross but always for the kids. He played Santa for the kids. Despite his ailing health, he always put the kids before himself—kids such as Cooper Smeaton, the face of the beach houses. It goes without saying that his wife, Lois, is a very understanding and generous person.

Ross was a devoted Catholic. In John 14, where Jesus comforts his disciples, it says:

My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

Ross took this to heart with his own version: 'Ronald McDonald Beach Houses have many rooms and I have prepared a place for you.' I would like to quote from an interview with Ross from a couple of years ago:

Now, some people would call you a local legend. How do you feel about that?

Ross replied:

Well, I’m not a legend. I just love kids. You know for 20 odd years I sat outside the Amcal Chemist at Christmas time with a red and white suit on and people in the Street would call me Santa. I just love children. All the money we raise here in Forster stays here in Forster…

Ross leaves behind his wife, Lois; his son, Straun; his stepdaughters, Elizabeth and Christine; his son-in-law, Dennis; his daughter-in-law, Johanna; and his grandchildren, Adam, Matthew, Timothy, Alec, Maddison, Luke and Brooke.

When I visited him just days before he passed, all he wanted to talk about was his family and his beloved beach houses. He was worried that his legacy to our community would not be continued as strongly. With his last breath, Ross quietly informed me that he had just been advised that he would be recognised for all his efforts—he is to be awarded an OAM on this Queen's Birthday honours list. Ross will now be forever recorded as a man who gave so much to his community, to the kids and to their families facing battles which, I pray, most of us will never have to endure.

Most people come into our lives and quietly pass through; others leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same for the experience. Rest in peace, mate, knowing your work is done here.