Aussie bloke Bill Hunter farewelled

SYDNEY (AAP) - 26.05.2011 - On and off screen, Bill Hunter was the quintessential Aussie bloke.
He was a knockabout larrikin who enjoyed a drink, a generous and fiercely loyal friend and mentor, and the type of man who could easily strike up a conversation with someone at a bar - and be genuinely interested in what they had to say.
Hunter's public farewell on Thursday also heard the Australian film and television veteran was an intensely private man, who cared nothing for the fame that his 50-year career brought him.
Long-time friend and fellow actor Rod Mullinar said Hunter loved Australia and Australians loved him.
"People loved Billy because what you saw was what you got - the straight up and down, authentic, genuine Aussie bloke," Mullinar told the memorial service at Melbourne's Princess Theatre.
"Bill was a sweet, generous and private man, who cared not a jot about the fame, privileges and bullshit - one of his pet hates and favourite words - that public notoriety brings."
Mullinar, who nursed the actor in his final three months, said it was typical of Hunter not to divulge he had been diagnosed with liver cancer.
"He hated people making a fuss of him," Mullinar said.
"He lived those last three months of his life talking, drinking, laughing."
Hunter would get up every day, light a cigarette and say, "Beautiful morning, mate," and finish each day in the same way, saying "Thanks for the day, mate."
He never complained about the pain he was in, Mullinar said.
"He soldiered on, making the most of the time he had left."
Hunter, who died on Saturday, aged 71, notched up 100-plus movie and television credits over his career.
He was such an industry stalwart that people used to ask was there an Australian film that didn't have Hunter in it.
John Hunter told the 600 mourners it was not as widely known that his brother was also a champion swimmer before he caught the acting bug.
He retired from swimming at 18 after a role as a stand-in in On the Beach, starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner, in 1959.
"This experience left a lasting impression on Bill and he thought, `Jesus, this is the life for me,'" Mr Hunter said.
"I often wonder what he could have achieved with the talent such as he had if he had stayed on for say another two to three years, but by then we may have never known Bill Hunter the actor."
Aboriginal activist Gary Foley said although Hunter became one of the most recognised faces in Australian acting, he was always the same Billy.
"A basically decent, egalitarian, knockabout larrikin," Foley said.
"In his inelegance, there was an abundance of elegance in his superb craft and style on screen, even though he denied it.
"On screen Billy was often the Australian all Australians saw themselves to be.
"His generosity of spirit was perhaps matched only by his capacity for spirit, or to be more precise, a drink. That was Billy."
Actor David Field said it was difficult to describe the joy and marvel of working on a set with Hunter.
"When Hunter held court on set, all ears were pricked," Field said of his mentor.
"No actor I know who had the pleasure left without a newfound pride and excitement and joy in their craft."
In a message read out at the service, Australian director Phillip Noyce said Hunter was cast in so many Australian films for one reason - talent.
"The man's acting ability was a power to behold. There will never be another like him."