House debates
Tuesday, 12 February 2019
Statements by Members
Beagley, Archdeacon William 'Bill' Alan
1:35 pm
Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I rise today to recognise and celebrate the life of the venerable William 'Bill' Beagley. Bill contained multitudes. He was so full of life and he made the lives of those around him fuller. He was an iconoclast: a motorcycle-riding, rock-music-playing priest with long flowing hair and a great beard. He was a friend and a valued ethical guide to me, someone I was always happy to see and proud to know. I was far from the only person to feel this way. The service and celebration of his life at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Williamstown was standing room only and was filled with people from every walk of life. Bill's spiritual leadership as the archdeacon at Holy Trinity transcended the church walls and encompassed social welfare and interfaith work across Melbourne's west. He was active in our community, from our sporting clubs to his chaplaincy at Port Phillip Prison. I'm sad that I didn't get to watch the Western Bulldogs beat his beloved Geelong Cats with him in their first AFLW game in Melbourne's west on the weekend. My thoughts are with Bill's family, particularly his wife, Leanne Beagley, during this very difficult time. The eulogies delivered at Bill's commemoration by his daughters, Rachel Mullen-Beagley, Sarah Beagley and Tess Beagley were extraordinary and, in themselves, a measure of a life that any man would be incredibly proud of. I hope that the family's faith is a consolation at this difficult time. My thoughts, the thoughts of Melbourne's west and the thoughts of the Australian Labor Party are with the Beagley family.