TRIBUTES have flowed for Wiradjuri Elder and Riverina sporting legend Neil Bulger, who has passed away aged 70.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Tumut man has been described by those who knew him as a gregarious, humble and big-hearted person, who also happened to possess a freakish sporting talent.
A talented all-rounder, Mr Bulger played 34 years of first grade cricket with clubs across the Riverina and the ACT, but also excelled at every sport he turned his hand to.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Mr Bulger was the son of a railway fettler and the eldest of 11 children who grew up in Gilmore where the family supplemented their diet by growing their own food and catching rabbits and fish in order to survive.
Sister Sue Bulger said her brother was a generous community-minded man, who just this week planned to drive Brungle school children to the swimming pool in Gundagai.
She said she will miss the sound of his truck coming up the driveway and the days sitting and talking around a barbecue.
"He's our big brother," she said. "Always looking after us.
"He had an amazing generosity of spirit ... he was a big man with a big heart."
Mr Bulger won numerous first grade cricket titles, on top of rugby league honours, and he was awarded life membership to the Queanbeyan Cricket Club, while also having an oval in the town named in his honour.
In 1989 he was picked to play in the Prime Minister's XI, alongside Dennis Lillie and Jeff Thomson, under PM Bob Hawke.
LIfelong family friend Graham Burmeister said Mr Bulger's death was "a great shock to everybody".
Mr Burmeister met his friend at school in the 1950s where Mr Bulger excelled at sport, including cricket, and drew comparisons to Don Bradman.
Wagga cricket coach Warren Smith considered Mr Bulger every bit as talented as the likes of Riverina Test stars Michael Slater and Mark Taylor, saying he would have been a "sensation" in today's Twenty20 format.
"He was a very special mate of mine and probably the best Aboriginal player I ever saw," Mr Smith said.
"He holds about every record up there in Canberra ... he was just a freak."
Mr Smith said his friend's game was reminiscent of Sir Garfield Sobers. He could open the bowling, then bowl left-arm spin, field, keep wicket and bat anywhere in the order.
"The best player that I ever saw was Shane Warne, by a mile," he said. "He changed the game. He used to think an over-and-a-half in front of everyone else. [Bulger] was the same, he could think in front of people."
Mr Smith will remember his friend as an extremely humble person.
"He was good on the ground, but even better off it ... blokes like Bulger, they only come along every so often.," he said.
Ray 'Dossie' Carr, the secretary of Tumut Blues Rugby League Old Boys, remembers Mr Bulger as a mentor to the young sports people of the town.
"Neil was an exceptional young man ... he was always there to do someone a good turn, we were very lucky to have him in Tumut," he said.
"He was very confident in what he could do, and with the young sports people in the town, especially the Indigenous kids, he always seemed to be around to try and encourage them and get them into sport, that was his forte."
Mr Carr was always struck by Mr Bulger's positive outlook, which he said set the man apart.
"No matter where you met him, he had that cheeky smile," he said.
"I don't think I ever heard a negative word come out of his mouth. To stand alongside Neil and talk about something, he always had a positive to it, it was just his nature."
Mr Burmeister said his friend, who he regarded as a brother, is considered "the greatest sportsman to come out of Tumut", however, there was much more to him than just his sporting ability.
"Gregarious, fun-loving, he was easy to talk to. People often think about Neil just [in terms of] his sporting prowess," he said.
"He was a champion cricketer, a champion rugby league player, a champion dart player, a champion bowls player, but there was more to him than sport.
"He was one of those everyday blokes who would treat everyone equally. Loved having a yarn, loved his community. He was an inspiration actually, I miss him."
A funeral service will be held at 11am on March 18 at the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Tumut.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Download our app from the Apple Store or Google Play
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters