ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

I have just received a great shock while on Facebook.

It looks as though Bob Markwell has died. I saw Bob with his wife, Faye, and his daughter, Jenny, at Corryong last Sunday and he looked very fit, so I don't know what has happened.

Bob and I shared a love of C. J. Dennis (as does Jenny). He was a wonderful, warm, gentle, genuine fellow. Bob was a brilliant reciter of Dennis, and had committed vast amounts to memory.

He was telling me last weekend how good, though little known (with the exception of "Washing Day") all the poems in "Doreen" (the small book) are, and that he had recently committed them all to memory, too.

As I recall, Bob lived in the Hunter Valley. He found it a bit of a struggle to find fellow Dennis afficionados up there, so came down to the Toolangi Festival (a couple of times, I think), to be with like-minded souls.

Last year he attended the VBPMA Bush Poetry Muster at Benalla instead of coming to Toolangi, and was instrumental in giving that weekend a very strong C. J. Dennis flavour.

I am still struggling to believe this is true. It is a very great loss indeed.

My condolences to Jenny and the Family ...

That's terrible news. The Markwells are well known to our Singleton Bush Poets group. What a sad loss.
Thanks for letting us know Stephen.

Such sad news. Bob was a lovely man and I don't think there was anyone who knew, or could recite C.J. Dennis as he could. It's a terribly sad loss.

Heather

Jan Lewis has written on Facebook that he had an accident while riding his bicycle.

The sad news is travelling fast that Robert (Bob) Markwell died yesterday 11th April, 2014. Bob had an accident on his bike and did not recover from the injuries.

I've sent a letter of condolence on behalf of the ABPA to the family and have asked if someone who is close to the Markwells could please write a Vale for Bob.

As an organization we have lost a lot of valued members this year. Our thoughts and sympathy are with all the families who have endured loss and right now they are particularly with Fay and Jenny and all who loved Bob. He was a fine gentleman.
Hal

I've posted a Vale for Bob Markwell on my blog, but it is very personal, based on my limited meetings with him. I'm sure somebody who knew him better could do a much better job.

You can find it here:
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au/vale-bob-markwell/

Such sad news. Bob was a real gentleman and a delightfully unique performer. He will be sadly missed.

Bob can be heard reciting "Uncle Jim" from "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke" by C. J. Dennis here:
http://www.sunnysiders.org.au/storage/Uncle%20Jim.mp3