Bryan Mitchell was a quiet achiever and enjoyed model making.– Kath Gannaway
OBITUARY
Bryan Mitchell
Born: 2 October, 1930
Died: 11 November, 2006
BRYAN Mitchell epitomised the quiet achiever.
His passion for the natural world, history and heritage and, of course, family, were his life.
The following tribute by friend and fellow bird-observer Bruce Osborn reflects Bryan’s place in the lives of family and friends.
When Bryan Mitchell, aged 76, passed away peacefully on 11 November, the Bird Observers Club of Australia lost a member who had been enthusiastically involved in the activities of the club for 58 years.
Bryan served as secretary for three years during the 1950s and his attendance at BOCA Christmas Camps with Alma, (and their three children in earlier years), covered an unbroken period of 42 years.
Bryan was a founding member of the Yarra Valley Branch of BOCA. His keen eyesight and knowledge of bird calls meant that the frequent question, “What was that, Bryan?” received a prompt and accurate response.
He had a great love of the bush where many of his early years had been spent and so when it came to identifying plants and insects Bryan was able to draw from his well of self-taught information and answer many of the questions that arose as we walked through the bush.
Bryan was a real handyman and a great “fixer” of things. He enjoyed painting and photography. In recent years he turned to model making, recreating scaled models of the old township of Fernshaw, Healesville railway station and the bark hut at Martin’s Creek where he spent part of his childhood in the 1930s.
Bryan’s other great love was gardening.
This tribute would not be complete without reference to Bryan, the “family” man. He loved his children and his grandchildren. This cannot be better expressed than in the words spoken at Bryan’s funeral service by his 10-year-old grandson, Daniel.
“My Pa was a great man and he was always there for me to have great fun. He told me about the olden days and how it was like to live in the bush. What I liked doing the most with Pa was talking and he showed me how he made his wood things. He cared about the environment; he cleaned the path and picked up junk. Pa gave me great gifts and always made time to share with me anything. He made some amazing things made out of wood. He took me for nice walks to the creek or sometimes we all went to the dam wall and looked down at the ground far below.
“I miss you Pa very, very much and I will never forget about you ever.”
Bryan was also a founding member, along with Alma, of Friends of the Parks. For almost a decade they have volunteered their time propagating plants and generally looking after the region’s national parks.
On 20 October, this year, Bryan and Alma celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Bryan died after a year-long battle with cancer.
and Bruce Osborn
