His elder son, Ian has joined me in sending this message of love about a life well lived and we hope you will join us when his family bring their Dad home to Bowral after that melodious voice is stilled .

Now, Colin wasn’t born in Australia... he came here on an icy whim which was upon him in a London gray day when he spoke to an engaging Aussie girl in a shipping office.

That and all his earlier life, culminating in his harrowing escape overland to India as an 11-year-old from Japanese occupied Burma in 1942, is told graphically in his 2002 and recently reprinted, best-seller autobiography White Butterflies.

The book ends with his arrival by chance in Bowral but, for all of us, that’s where the Col McPhedran story begins, just 58 years ago.

He may have been born in Burma,but Bowral became his life... his “village”as son Ian, also a best-seller author, said the other day.

From the day he arrived, Col made an indelible impression on people, from “Pop” Cameron who sold him his first paper, to Bowral Hotel publican Mr Betts, who gave the abstemious Col his first Aussie pub bed,then through a variety of occupations, widening friendships through cricket and soccer, love and marriage to Laurel, five wonderful kids and a life of civic and community service, based on his beloved Bowral.

Now that life is sadly ending,with all of his children supporting him here in sunlit Yangebup, south of Perth, where the sun sets in the sea .

It is a peaceful place,one of space and silence and the recent chanting of Buddhist monks in late afternoon with Colin was redolent of my Burmese days in Bagan.

I write these few words in an appeal to any who may care to remember Colin McPhedran by contributing to the wonderful nursing service, caring for him now, who were here three times today to minister to him and will stay all night with his caring kids until and, indeed, after the end.

The family invites all who care, not to send fading flowers, as beautiful as they have been, but to consider a contribution, no matter how small, to Silver Chain Hospice Care Service, which goes directly to the palliative care nursing service that has given Colin such support for the past many weeks.

Their address is Silver Chain, Hospice Care Service,Reply Paid 65340 OSBORNE PARK WA 6017 and please make sure to direct it to the Hospice Care Service.Thank you all and now, over to Ian.

AND SO the last meal has been eaten with kids and best mate, the final goodbyes have been uttered through curtains of loving tears and it is time for this man to continue on his journey.

A journey that paused for 58 wonderful years in the community of Bowral where Colin put down his roots, created a family and an army of friends and offered a soft shoulder and kind soul to any needy passer-by who crossed his path.

He loved Bowral and the characters he encountered.

His final days were spent reminiscing about many of them, memories reinforced with peals of laughter and welling tears.

This was a man who was a part of the community like the seed is part of the soil.

His kids got to understand this from a very early age when his many absences at Council or Hospital board meetings, or one-one-one sessions with the needy, and his long work days at the Shell servo, meant that he was often not there.

But his need to minister to the community was strong and we came to understand that he required his outlet with his other “family’’ to slake a powerful thirst to give.

GOOD WORKS were an integral part of Colin’s Buddhist philosophy and he took the concept of merit very seriously indeed.

As he steps off this mortal coil he leaves with a great deal of merit.

According to the Buddhist way reincarnation is a key part of the journey.

If merit means that you return in a slightly easier position along the chain of mortal existence, then it is difficult to imagine what this gentle man might come back as.

Perhaps a pet cat or dog with an owner who, like him, has a profound love of animals. Maybe an eagle soaring above the Highland landscape he loved so deeply.

Or just a humble family man, a flawed human like the rest of us, with a great deal of love to give.

If this should come to pass then those who are lucky enough to be his family or friends are in for a treat.

For all of you in Bowral who will mourn Colin McPhedran, take comfort that his was a life well lived, as his kith and kin have taken great comfort from being so well loved.

Mr McPhedran passed away yesterday, June 3, in Western Australia surrounded by friends and family.