The "Boy from Boree Creek" and "Two-minute Tim" are just two of the names that will forever be associated with Tim Fischer.
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The former deputy prime minister, who died on Wednesday night after a battle with acute leukaemia, was many things to many people: an army officer, a farmer, politician, humanitarian, diplomat, negotiator, husband and father.
They were the words used to describe the National Party icon when he was awarded an honorary degree at Charles Sturt University in 2001.
It is also how the 73-year-old much-loved son of the Riverina, and "idiosyncratic Australian with the Akubra hat", will be remembered following his passing.
Timothy Andrew Fischer was born in Lockhart on May 3, 1946, to Ralph and Barbara Fischer.
He was educated at Boree Creek Public School and later at Xavier College, in Melbourne.
In 1966, he was conscripted into the Australian Army, after graduating from the Officer Training Unit Scheyville.
Mr Fischer served with the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment and later saw active duty in South Vietnam.
Back home, he took up farming at Boree Creek. However, public office beckoned and he won Country Party pre-selection for the seat of Sturt.
In 1971, at the age of 24, he was elected to the NSW Parliament as Member for Sturt - the youngest NSW politician to be voted in, and the first returned serviceman from the Vietnam War.
Mr Fischer held the seat until 1980, then the seat of Murray until 1984.
After 13 years, eight months and six days as a member of the NSW Legislative Assembly - where he held a number of roles, including many shadow ministerial portfolios - he resigned from state politics and set his eyes on Canberra.
Mr Fischer entered the federal Parliament in 1984 as the Nationals' Member for Farrer.
It was here he became one of the country's most-prominent politicians; filling high-profile roles such as Leader of the National Party, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade.
Former staffers nicknamed him ''two-minute Tim'' because that's how long it took him to enter a room and get everyone onside.
Mr Fischer started Tumbatrek in 1985, to promote summer tourism in the Snowy Mountains, and the event became the stuff of political legend.
While deputy prime minister, and as the acting prime minister, he would often run the country while taking media through the landscapes of the high country.
He was dubbed Australia's most-travelled politician and the demanding nature of public office began to take its toll.
Mr Fischer married Judy Brewer in 1992, and later had two sons; Harrison and Dominic.
The time spent away from them prompted a reassessment of his priorities, and the honorary degree citation tells the story of how a drive through a southern Riverina town changed the course of his political career.
"As they travelled through the town of Howlong one June evening in 1999, Tim and his wife reflected on the irony of the name of this town, culminating in his resignation as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Trade and National Party Leader on 30 June 1999," the citation said.
"While this sudden departure was to dramatically change the landscape of Australian politics at its most senior levels, it opened up new directions for Tim and improved his quality of life."
However, Mr Fischer wasn't completely sans parliamentary responsibility. He led the official Australian Delegation to East Timor, which oversaw that country's ballot for independence in 1999, and maintained his role as the Member for Farrer.
Retirement from the Parliament came in 2001, and he received a Doctor of the University (honoris causa), at CSU the same year.
"Tim's life has been about dogged adherence to goals. It has also been about risk-taking, grabbing opportunities and perseverance," his citation read.
Even away from Canberra, Mr Fischer continued to grab those opportunities.
He was named the head of the National Wine Foundation, released multiple books, and was the chairman of Tourism Australia.
In 2005, Mr Fischer was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).
He devoted much of his time and energy to numerous causes, both here and overseas.
At home, in his role as a patron of Autism Spectrum Australia, he opened two satellite classes at Sturt Public School in 2006.
Further afield, Mr Fischer became the first Australian Ambassador to the Holy See after being appointed to the role by the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2009.
He later described the three-year stint as a "bookend" to his public life, during wide-ranging farewell speech to the National Press Club in Canberra.
That 2012 speech touched on everything from diplomacy and climate change to religious freedom and food security. And trains, of course.
Mr Fischer had a passion for rail and was undoubtedly a train tragic. He hosted radio shows and wrote books on the topic, and was a longtime leading advocate for a high-speed rail network.
He even managed to "mischievously" combine his love of trains with his diplomatic duties in Rome, when he convinced the Vatican to let him use the Pope's own rarely-used train platform to stage a steam train trip for his fellow diplomats and raise funds for Italian earthquake victims in 2011.
Back home, Mr Fischer remained a constant fighter for his community.
In 2016, he lashed out at the state government's proposal to merge councils in the region, labelling a plan to merge Lockhart with its neighbours as "bizarre".
The council remains a standalone organisation today.
Also in 2016, Mr Fischer made headlines after spending a night stranded in bushland in north-east Victoria.
He'd earlier set out for a walk on Mount Jack, near Myrtleford, but lost his glasses and ran out of time to complete the walk before nightfall.
In 2018, Mr Fischer revealed he had been diagnosed with acute leukaemia and was undergoing chemotherapy.
However, he remained an active in the community and even visited Wagga to sign copies of his sixth book; Steam Australia - Locomotives that galvanised the nation.
In May, Mr Fischer was present when an extension of Lockhart's Greens Gunyah Museum was officially opened as the Tim Fischer AC Gallery - complete with Akubra, rail memorabilia and copies of Hansard.
"There's a couple of initials after Tim Fischer's name and it's AC, now that is the highest honour that anyone in Australia can achieve," Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Michael McCormack told the crowd who had gathered for the opening.
"But AC to me for Tim Fischer stands for a champion,it stands for a colossus, it stands for a character.
"There's no greater Australian, ladies and gentlemen boys and girls, than Tim Fischer, no greater Australian."
Just last month, Federation Council unveiled the Tim Fischer Community Park at Boree Creek - ensuring the community's most famous export would forever be a part of his hometown.
Mr Fischer had earlier travelled to Boree Creek aboard a classic 47 class diesel locomotive to raise money for the Albury Wodonga Cancer Centre, where he was being treated up until his death.
The life of the boy from Boree Creek might have reached the end of the line, but the vast distances he travelled to serve his constituents and the nation will never be forgotten.
THE LIFE OF TIM FISCHER
1946 - Born in Lockhart on May 3, to Ralph and Barbara Fischer. Later educated at Boree Creek Public School and Xavier College, Melbourne.
1966 - Graduated from the Officer Training Unit, Scheyville. Served with 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in Vietnam. Discharged from the Army with the rank of Second Lieutenant.
1970 - Won Country Party preselection for the seat of Sturt.
1971 - Elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly for Sturt on February 13, aged 24 years.
1973, 1976, 1978 - Re-elected as Member for Sturt.
1980 - Named Member for Murray after a redistribution.
1981, 1984 - Re-elected Member for Murray.
1984 - Fischer's 13 years, eight months and six days as a Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly ended when he resigned to contest the federal division of Farrer.
1984 - Elected to the House of Representatives as Member for Farrer.
1987, 1990 - Re-elected as Member for Farrer.
1990 - Named Leader of the National Party.
1992 - Married Judy Brewer.
1993, 1996 - Re-elected as Member for Farrer.
1996 - Became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade.
1998 - Re-elected as Member for Farrer.
1999 - Received Thai Royal decoration for service to the Kingdom of Thailand.
1999 - Led the official Australian Delegation, which oversaw the ballot of independence held in East Timor.
2000 - Mayor of the Paralympic Village at the Sydney Paralympic Games.
2001 - Retired prior to general elections.
2001 - Recipient of a Doctor of the University, (honoris causa), at Charles Sturt University.
2001 - Named the head of the National Wine Foundation, a joint initiative of the Winemakers' Federation of Australia and the National Wine Centre aimed at dealing with social problems that lead to alcohol abuse.
2002 - Released his second book - co-written with Peter Rees, a former journalist at The Daily Advertiser - called Outback Heroes.
2004 - Became chairman of Tourism Australia.
2005 - Awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).
2006 - Fischer, who has an autistic son, opens two satellite classes at Sturt Public School to help autistic kids.
2007 - Awarded the 2007 Sir Edward Weary Dunlop Asialink Medal, for his long-term commitment to enhancing the quality of life in the region and improving Australia-Asia relations.
2009 - Appointed by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as the first Australian Ambassador to the Holy See.
2016 - Fischer spent a night stranded in bushland in north-east Victoria, after earlier setting out for a walk on Mount Jack, near Myrtleford, on the afternoon of March 29. He chose to spend the night outdoors after lost his glasses and running out of time to complete the walk.
2016 - Fischer makes waves after calling for landowners to "shut up" and realise the value of rail trails in the Riverina.
2018 - Fischer revealed he had been diagnosed with acute leukaemia and was undergoing chemotherapy.
2019 - The Tim Fischer AC Gallery, an extension of Lockhart's Greens Gunyah Museum, is officially opened on May 2.
2019 - The Tim Fischer Community Park unveiled by the Federation Council on July 21. Fischer had earlier joined 200 people for a train ride from Albury to Boree Creek, to raise money for the Albury Wodonga Cancer Centre.
2019 - Tim Fischer dies on August 21, aged 73 years.