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THE NATION SHARES A DAUGHTER'S LOSS
In death, as in life, Slim Dusty brought people together. Fans came from far and wide to pay heartfelt tribute to Slim Dusty, the Australian country music icon who touched people from all walks of life. The great songman and wandering minstrel took his final bow at St Andrew's Anglican Cathedral in Sydney, his trademark Akubra atop his coffin. But amid the fond memories of a nation was the personal sorrow of a family to whom the country icon was a husband, father and grandad. Dusty's daughter Anne Kirkpatrick choked back tears as she passed by her father's casket, draped in the Australian flag, with a bouquet of native flowers and his trusty Akubra placed on top. "I'll miss his cheeky irreverence. He didn't always do or say the correct things, which caused mother some consternation at times, but mostly he made us smile," Ms Kirkpatrick said. "I'll miss singing with him, and I'll just miss him. "I'm immensely proud of his pioneering spirit and what he has achieved. The list of awards and accolades is astonishing enough." But Ms Kirkpatrick said she was most proud of the difference her father had made to people's lives. "Children soothed to sleep by Slim Dusty's songs, a truckie buried with his favourite Slim Dusty recording, Dad's music requested and played at all manner of family occasions ... and so it goes." Earlier, son Dr David Kirkpatrick said Dusty's passing had left a hole in so many people's lives. "There's a space that can't be filled."
Slim Dusty - the undisputed King of Country has gone,
but his contribution to Australian culture will live on.
Slim Dusty died on Friday Sept 19, 2003
and was honoured with a State Funeral in Sydney on Friday Sept 26, 2003
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