John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about a fine elderly man called Ted Mulligan. Recently my wife, Nancy, and I were honoured to attend the 100th birthday celebrations of this Guyra legend. Ted Mulligan is a fifth-generation Australian and the last surviving member of his generation of Mulligans. As one of the seven children of Edward and Mary Mulligan, Ted grew up on the family property, Glenore, just west of Guyra, and was initially schooled on the adjoining property Hillsdale before heading off to Guyra Convent and Armidale De La Salle schools.

After leaving school, Ted worked on his parent's sheep and cattle property. He also grew peas and trapped rabbits. He and his brothers trapped around 10,000 rabbits in a two-year period. At the age of 20, he joined the 12th Light Horse Regiment, becoming a member of the Armidale Troop and then transferring to the Guyra Troop after it formed. Ted's horse was chosen out of 700 horses to carry the Governor-General on an inspection of the Northern NSW Troop. After enlisting in the Army, he saw active service in New Guinea and the South Pacific and received 10 bravery and service medals. Post-war, he purchased the property Ellerslie, which adjoins the family farm Glenore, and he married Iris Cox in 1948. They were to spend all their working life on Ellerslie.

Ted provided a school for his children and the children from neighbouring properties, and he and Iris also provided meals and accommodation for teachers at the school. He was a driving force behind the establishment of school bus runs in the 1960s to take children to school in Guyra.

He loved horses and cricket, and a great social outing for the family was always the pony club events. In fact, he helped form the Guyra Pony Club in 1958 and, if some children other than his own did not have a horse, Ted would provide one. At the age of 98 he was still regularly riding 10 miles a day, often with his great mate Doug Faint.

His other sporting love was cricket—and the Australian team could do with a bit of the Mulligan resilience at the moment! Ted captained the Glenore team, and just about every member was a Mulligan. In one game, the whole 11 in the team were Mulligans. He represented Guyra and Northern Tablelands. He was a very handy bat and played on into his 60s. He gave back to the sport as a selector, an official and a team manager and he was the instigator of Guyra's first turf cricket wicket.

Any country community depends on volunteers and people putting their shoulder to the wheel. Ted Mulligan has done more than his fair share, and I will now list some of the organisations he has been involved with in different capacities. He has been a member of the Guyra Show Society for just a little while—80 years! He has been involved with the Sydney and Brisbane shows. He has been involved with Guyra Pony Club for 58 years. I think he was one of the instigators that got the club going. He has been involved with the Zone 13 Pony Club Association and the Australian Stock Horse Society. He joined the Australian Light Horse Association in 1937 and was one of six chosen to represent the association at the dedication of a memorial to Australian soldiers at Beersheba in Israel in 2008. He has been involved with Guyra Polocrosse Club, Guyra and Northern Tablelands Cricket, and Guyra RSL Sub Branch for 70 years, in a number of active roles. At the age of 100, Ted remains a patron of six organisations.

His service has not gone unnoticed. He was awarded an OAM in 2006, Guyra Citizen of the Year in 2008 and the NSW Seniors Week Local Achievement Award in 2014. Ted has his faith and is a staunch supporter of the St Mary of the Angels School and the Catholic Church in Guyra. The day following his birthday celebration, Ted received a papal blessing.

What makes the Ted Mulligan story so compelling is this: just two years ago, at the age of 98, he was hit by a car and received injuries that resulted in a slow recovery. Back scans revealed not only damage to his vertebrae but also lymphoma, a type of cancer. In typical fashion, Ted fought back and has achieved complete remission. Ted's specialist wrote in a medical journal that, at 98, Ted may be amongst the oldest patients worldwide to be successfully treated for an aggressive lymphoma.

I was truly humbled to be in the presence of Ted Mulligan, his lovely wife, Iris, and the extended Mulligan family. Ted and Iris raised six children. Times would have been tough, and those were the days where you caught as much food as you purchased. I suspect that whilst Ted appreciates the recognition that he has received, his reward has been seeing his family and his town and district prosper. He is truly a great Australian, and I was glad to present the key to Guyra to him with Hans Hietbrink in recent times.

Ted Mulligan: you are a legend and we wish you all the best!