Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to acknowledge the passing of a remarkable Australian, Ray Davis—father, grandfather, husband, veteran and volunteer. I met Ray in his role as a member of the RSL sub-branch in Hornsby, where he ran the Anzac services and remembrance services for many years. He was a great organiser with a great commitment to community.

Ray moved to Hornsby in the late 1970s and immediately immersed himself in community. He became active in scouting—organising camps, phone book drives and fundraisers. He coached his three children's sporting teams and was a very active parent at Our Lady of the Rosary in Waitara. He headed up a couple of successful fetes. More recently, he relished the role of grandfather and would volunteer at sporting carnivals and school events.

Like his father before him, Ray served our country in the Royal Australian Army Service Corps. Ray joined in 1965 and was a corporal in the Vietnam War, where he was deployed in 1970 and 1971. Ray's service shaped his later years. He had a deep commitment to his fellow veterans and their families. Ray became a qualified Department of Veterans' Affairs welfare officer and took a keen interest in the administration of veterans' entitlements. He gave selfless service to the Hornsby RSL Sub-Branch and the Totally and Permanently Incapacitated Veterans Association, especially the Hornsby branch. He encouraged young people to take an interest in Australia's tradition of service. The causes Ray championed were great. To Ray's wife Christine, and to his family and mates: thank you for sharing Ray with our community and our country. May his memory be a blessing.