 Bernie and the members of Support Network, what a great impact. He was a person who was our patron, not just a patron, he wasn't a figurehead, he was a person who rolled up his sleeves, got stuck into it, attended all our committee meetings and really enjoyed his work, his passion. People who knew Bernie know about his passion, his immense pride and hunger region, his rubby roots, where he came from from the country. Well he transferred that all to the members of Support Network. Bernie was a classicist and he was a man who was inspired by the love of Latin literature. Latin literature was always with Bernie, he was passionate about Virgil Zanier and it inspired him, it informed his values and his way of life and he was also a teacher, an amazing teacher who could convey his love of Latin literature and the Roman world to his students and his gift to all of us who were lucky enough to be taught by him is a passion and a love of the ancient world, a love of Latin literature and its messages and its beauty. Bernie's probably very well known for the work that he's done with sport and the development of sport in the university. He was fundamental in the development of the forum and the naming of the forum, again going back to his classical love of the classics, his classical era and as well as that, Bernie also helped develop the myriad of sporting associations that the university has. His particular passion was rugby and the University's Rugby Club and I think we can all understand how tolerant Mary must have been during those times when Bernie had other things sporting like on his mind. So Bernie was a great person, I'm very proud to have worked with Bernie over seven years and I really cherished the friendship that we were able to establish. He loved his family, he loved the university, he cared deeply for his friends and like many people I miss him. The Broadmeadow Rail project meant everything to Bernie. Bernie's impact on the Broadmeadow project was that he was able to go and speak to people, open doors, he was able to take the presentations that we had done to people and discuss them with them on a level that only Bernie could do. Bernie was the linchpin for the whole of the project as far as being able to bring people together and that was his great strength. Bernie was the founding warden of Everett House and I was lucky enough to live at Everett when it was first established so for four of Bernie's seven years as warden, the university couldn't have picked a better person to lead Everett House at that time. Bernie was warm, approachable, kind, caring, very much a father figure and a mentor to all of these kids moving to Newcastle from the country first time out of home and Bernie just had enough of Country Larriken in him I guess as well to take everybody under his wing and really establish the traditions and the spirit and the pride in Everett that still exists there today. He's made a huge impact pretty much on everyone he met he had an impact but for me personally I think it's around how to treat people and the importance of really getting to know someone and to treat everyone with that respect and interesting and give your time. He was so generous in his time and I think in terms of the university the impact he gave on thousands of students and was able to help them through various things from the sporting field to accommodation to a scholarship to study at the university he had an incredible impact on so many people. Bernie started the scholarship scheme at Hunter Valley Grammar School which is quite unique I think for high school to provide scholarships for their students leaving the school so it's primarily to assist those entering into the next stage mostly at university so he was the instigator of that it still goes today we have a number of sponsors and the school themselves provide support for students in that regard. In terms of rugby I've known Bernie for a bit over 20 years I think around that and there are many people have known him well before that and he stage at rugby here but he was a player then a captain then a coach a president of the club and all sorts of other roles and then patron so it was so appropriate that the field is named after him. I think that first experience brokered by by Bernie with with a donor just helped me to realise how transformative and powerful it is to work with philanthropists and how important the quests and donations can be to our workers researchers and clinicians and to do our jobs and so I've since been a beneficiary of the Braun Fellowship which is so critical in helping me build a team now of people and researchers who are all working really hard to address depression and anxiety and substance use in our society and we just couldn't do it without that sort of support without that connection without those relationships. I think connection is key to everything that we do whether you're talking about connectedness to the natural world whether you're connectedness to your family connectedness with your friends I think that's the ultimate source of strength and that on the basis of that connectedness you have a better view of the world a better understanding of the world a connect is made up of two words nectar to bind con neck is to bind together so it's a binding together of people through natural interests through courses with its sport and getting people to connect people connected the easiest word in the language is community it's the easiest word the hardest thing is building community and that's one of the things that I've tried to do through classics department through university sport through community relations through alumni relations and essentially with the fundraising arm of the university to connect and build community