Page 5192 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 28 November 2017
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from 14 May 1976, responsible for assisting the Premier in the Wran government. He would also later serve as Minister for Services and Minister for Corrective Services.
In the six elections he fought, his primary vote was extraordinary: 52 per cent, 59 per cent, 55 per cent, 62 per cent, 70 per cent and 68 per cent. In fact since the seat was established in 1950 the best two results recorded were by Bill in his last two elections. His performance was even better than for the two premiers that preceded and succeeded him as members for Maroubra.
I met with Bill on numerous occasions. He was great company and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations. We chatted about campaigning, his time as a minister, his cruise ship holidays and current affairs. He would talk about his past community engagement, including how sitting at the local TAB was one of the best ways to get news about the comings and goings around town.
Forever a politician and intrigued by comings and goings, I remember him telling me about the rumour mill on cruise ships. While on the cruise ships, he told me he would test the rumour mill by telling a tall story to someone and wait to see how long it would take before he heard someone pass on the same story back to him.
Bill was a convivial person. In fact in his maiden speech in the New South Wales parliament on 8 August 1968 he finished with the following sentences:
I thank the members of the House for the very courteous way in which they have listened to me. I hope that on some future occasion the House will not be so quiet, for I appreciate a more raucous and a more lively atmosphere.
Bill also told me the story of when there was a strike at the government printing office ahead of the 1978 New South Wales state election. The strike was threatening the election because the ballot papers were unable to be transported out of the Ultimo building. As the responsible minister, it was left to Bill to work out a way to get the ballot papers to the booths. He hatched an elaborate plan, involving analysing the plans for the buildings to discover alternative entrances and exits, getting trucks from a friendly union, having vehicles travel the wrong way up a one-way street, various road closures and a police escort.
At 6.20 pm on Friday, 29 September 1968 the ballot papers that were subject to a blockade by the Printing and Kindred Industries Union were successfully removed from the Quarry Street premises using Bill’s plan. The papers were then delivered to the polling booths across the state. For Bill and his Labor Party, the fact that the election was able to go ahead through his ingenuity was a very good thing, as the Labor Party had a resounding victory.
From reading about Bill as Mayor of Randwick and as a member and minister in the New South Wales government, I can see that he was a practical, affable and community focused man. This is consistent with the Bill I knew later in his life. The Bill I met nine years ago had more than 80 years of experience and wisdom, and I was very fortunate to have shared some time with him. I had the pleasure of meeting his
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