SMH - “Strong spirit was handed on by Dad”
This life story of Pat Brassil and Belinda Brassil, written by Dimity Brassil, was published in the Sydney Morning Herald Timelines section on December 31, 2011. The publication of this article led Dimity to start thinking about a way to record the life stories using what was then a relatively new technology - podcasts. Text of this article is at here: https://www.smh.com.au/national/strong-spirit-was-handed-on-by-dad-20111230-1pfk0.html and reproduced below.
“Pat Brassil and his daughter Belinda were part of what made Wagga Wagga work; Pat through decades of teaching and services to local government, and Belinda as a teacher in the Catholic school system. Both believed children in regional Australia should have the same opportunities as their city counterparts to excel.”
Patrick Brassil was born in Wyalong on November 11, 1931, the third of five children of Francis Brassil - a veteran of Gallipoli and the Western Front who became a clerk of courts in western NSW - and his wife, Margaret (nee Swan), one of the early women graduates of the University of Sydney. Pat was orphaned by the age of six and he and his siblings were raised in Redfern and Paddington, eventually settling with their Aunt Eileen in Burwood.
Pat and his brother Tom attended Holy Cross College in Ryde. Then Pat went on to Sydney University, where he met a Wagga girl, Anne McDonough, through their membership of the Newman Society.
Pat and Anne graduated as teachers and married in 1955.
Pat's teaching career began in Warren, then he moved to Canberra High School, and the family settled in Wagga in 1967. He was the first social science master of Mount Austin High School in Wagga and then deputy and principal of Junee High School, 30 kilometres to the north.
Pat is on record as the longest-serving councillor in Wagga's history, from 1974 to 2004. He was mayor seven times, chiefly from 1989 to 1995, and delegate and chairman of the Riverina Water County Council, and its predecessor, for 25 years. He was an executive member of the Local Government Association of NSW and chairman of its Water Management Committee for a decade. Pat knew the huge significance of water to the area, though he never drank it unless it was cut with tea or, preferably, hops and barley.
As chairman of the Country Mayors Association and founding member of the Riverina Regional Development Board, Pat was a key driver in the case for balanced state development, arguing that the NSW government paid scant regard to the needs of people west of the ''sandstone curtain''.
He was a successful Labor man in the Liberal-National heartland. His allegiance to the ALP was unwavering. Pat first stood as a candidate for the federal seat of Farrar in 1975, after the Whitlam government's dismissal. In a divisive, emotional election, it was no surprise he was unsuccessful.
Undaunted, he continued his work as a branch worker, spokesman and candidate. He was given ALP life membership in 2004.
Pat was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1997 for services to local government, notably regional development and decentralisation. To him, this award was only surpassed by the granting of the Freedom of the City in 2007 from the community that had adopted him 40 years before.
In his personal life, Pat was a great tinkerer and would usually be found in the family's cavernous shed. His most treasured possession was the 1924 Silver Ghost Rolls-Royce that he lovingly restored over 40 years.
Pat Brassil is survived by Anne, children Michael, Margaret, Jane, John, Matthew, Clare and Dimity, 20 grandchildren and his sister Maria. A daughter, Katy, pre-deceased him and his third child, Belinda, died shortly after him.
Like her father, Belinda was widely respected for her intellect, wit, inquiring mind and fairness. Belinda Mary Brassil was born in Canberra on May 27, 1959, and was educated in Wagga.
She attended the University of NSW in the late 1970s. She was active on campus and embraced the heady student days of the time. Belinda began her career as an English teacher in Tumbarumba, not far from Wagga. She returned to Wagga in the mid-1980s, did her master of letters and started teaching in the Catholic system.
Belinda was head of English at Kildare Catholic College. On the way to that position, she had lectured at Charles Sturt University, become a member of the NSW English Teachers Association and had many years as a marker for HSC.
After literature on Belinda's list of loves came the law and its application to real life. She was one of the first legal studies teachers in the state and many of her students achieved top-10 HSC rankings.
She was also was the author of the Excel HSC Legal Studies study guides, widely regarded as the subject's top reference.
Belinda was vivacious, optimistic and generous. Her taste in fashion, music, literature, films and art was eclectic, alternative and of a satirical bent. She was petite in stature but her reputation was fierce and her heart was large. Her strongest love was reserved for her daughter, Madeline, born on her 40th birthday.
Belinda was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. Secondary tumours were discovered in June and she died shortly after, aged 52.
Belinda Brassil is survived by Madeline, her husband, Chris Helyar, her mother, Anne, and her brothers and sisters.
Dimity Brassil
