Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
The last time I made a political comment on the Footy Almanac was the death of Gough Whitlam, a truly great hero of mine.
So it’s with sadness that Bob Hawke/ Hawkey/The Silver Bodgie or just Bob has died.
I never met Bob, but I attended many meetings over the years when he was guest speaker or when he spoke at rallies. People were just drawn to him like a magnet and he loved all the attention in a really inclusive way. You wanted to be his best friend and I reckon he wanted to be yours too.
Farewell a truly great Australian.
Rod Oaten
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Dear Rod,
I am glad he and my mother weren’t around for the result of the election. Miss the uniting way he had about him. And he looked a bit like my dad and uncle.
I miss them both too.
Hi Rod
Yes, yes and yes.
I did meet Hawkey once, back in 2009 while I was walking up Gouger St in Adelaide. We were attending a conference at the Hilton, just around the corner and were out looking for somewhere to eat on one of Adelaide’s best eat streets. Bob was at a bar, talking with a friend, smoking a cigar, nursing a whiskey. As we went past I felt a sudden urge to shake the hand of a truly great Australian. I also wanted to let him know about something. You see at the 2007 election our family was the ACTU working family in their advertising campaign to stop Howard’s Work Choices policy. Seeing as Hawkey was an old ACTU stalwart I thought I’d let him know. He greeted me warmly when I introduced myself and offered my praise of him. Then I told him my ACTU story. He got up from his chair and said, well then I need to say thank you to you and your family. I said that’s fine Bob, ours was a tiny contribution. I said to him, when the ACTU approached us to do these ads for them I said I was happy to do anything to get that little c**t Howard out of the Lodge. Bob, doubled over, slapped his thigh and couldn’t stop laughing. I said goodbye and went on my way, buzzing like a fool because I had just made Bob Hawke laugh. Cheers
RK – that is a great story.
Trucker – magnificent.
Rod – thank you.