Pete Steedman , whose chronicles featured in this blog , personally pulled the cork on his amazing life with the help of dignity in death palliative care and two bottles of expensive Grange wine at his Melbourne home on July 10.
He did not actually partake of the Grange , which he supplied from his cellar, for the small group at his farewell, which included family members , but did have a final sip of pinot noir .
A death notice in The Age newspaper included the following : Courageous, outrageous, progressive, writer, editor, ALP larrikin, cantankerous and yet generous. Comrade and a friend to many.
He had been battling cancer . After a private cremation, there wil be a memorial service in the Victorian Trades Hall August 31 .
After his passing , the report he drew up on Cyclone Tracy - which severely damaged Darwin in l974 - has been found in his files .
Knowing much about Steedman's involvement with Darwin after the disaster , the writer of this post told him about a month ago over the phone of plans for the 50th anniversary in December ,
Pete was having difficulty speaking at the time , but said that if he survived the next fortnight he would book a flight to Darwin to participate in the anniversary .