​While it is with sadness that we gather today to farewell Roger, it is also to celebrate an extraordinary life that was well lived. A sense of fairness always prevailed and good humour was present when appropriate - albeit that it was a fairly sophisticated one.

Honesty, loyalty and integrity are traits synonymous with his name and were ever present in thoughts expressed and deeds done. He was highly articulate but measured in his response. Roger was an honourable gentleman.

Roger rightfully became one of Tenterfield’s well respected citizens. He set high standards and I believe this came from his desire to encourage achievement - he was not a believer of the ‘lowest common denominator’ notion.

I always thought of Roger as being ‘very proper’ – I certainly watched my ‘P’s and Q’s’ in his company in my earlier years. While these standards were relaxed slightly in recent years, it was this characteristic that served him well throughout his professional life. This was also noticeable in his standard of personal appearance – always very dapper and extremely well attired. Roger’s personal standards of attire drew comments from the staff at Armidale hospital along the lines….”We have never seen such a well dressed patient”.

Roger was justifiably proud of being a generational lawyer and as there are many here today who are well aware of his love of history, I can confirm that he was a 4th generation of lawyers in his family. His understanding of his responsibility to his chosen profession is evident in the extensive pro bono services he provided to the Tenterfield community. Roger was guided by the saying “We all live in a small community so we have to give and take for the benefit of the community”. Roger ‘walked his talk’ and the list gratis legal assistance over his 50 years is ‘mind boggling’.

As Honorary Solicitor for Tenterfield Community Care and Tenterfield Golf Club, significant and detailed work was undertaken to ensure the success and compliance of such large building projects. He also assisted with ongoing regulatory and licencing requirements for these groups.

He served 6 years as a local Alderman on the Tenterfield Municipal Council and was elected as Mayor in 1971. Following the amalgamation of the 2 councils in 1974, he served as a Councillor for several years on the new Shire Council.

Roger was always willing to assist those in their time of need – preparing countless Drought Relief applications, age pension tax assessments and resolving issues for non profit organisations.

He served as President of no less than 4 local associations and was the Pony Club Australia NSW State President for 18 years from 1990 to 2008. He was awarded Life membership of the Association in 2009

He was involved in differing capacities with the local pre-school, primary and high school. Roger was also a member or patron for no less than 7 local community organisations.

Roger was a significant contributor to the local and wider community and was deservedly awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2005.

Given Roger’s chosen profession and our litigious society, it is somewhat difficult to incorporate the professional part of his life into today’s proceedings. Staff recollections of Roger are that he was fair and caring. Roger was very happy to run the quid pro quo system in relation to staff leave. Those who had worked ‘above and beyond’ could expect a favourable response when family emergencies occurred. Throughout his extended professional life, Roger failed to completely master the skill of instantaneously locating files. On many occasion, this was because they were on his desk under another file. The file location was often accompanied by ‘what bloody silly person put that there?”  SCB staff all have clear recollections of Roger’s capacity to work above and beyond with him often being at the office during weekends.

The practice of Stuart Cook and Braham were engaged in considerable estate work. Roger’s expertise in this area led him to form the opinion and share with a staff member  (I quote), “Everyone should pass away on 30 June. Finalising their estate matters and the corresponding tax implications would be so easy”.

Despite the fact that Roger was a pretty private and proper bloke, there are some good stories to be told. Given the fact that it is Roger Hardinge Braham, it will be done in a respectful manner befitting of his stature.

Now, very few people have been privy to the wardrobe of Roger (with the notable exception of Vicki, Mrs Campbell, Daphne, Jenny and of course Pat). From the time of the major extensions to ‘Keba’, it seems his wardrobe took flight and never abated. On his move to Armidale, Roger was asked to minimise his wardrobe. Easier said than done!!! At about 9.30pm on the evening prior to his departure, we started on the dressing room pack. I mistakenly thought Roger would part with at least 25% of items given the number of suits. Not so!!

As Roger was a pretty practical fellow, I appealed to this aspect when I got to his set of tails. Now, this set of tails has given Roger very good service. The conversation went along these lines “So Roger, do you need to keep these?” A somewhat perfunctory but polite “yes” was issued. I then attempted the ‘give me a reason’ tack. While Roger could not provide any specific events in the near future where being attired in tails would be required, the tails moved to Armidale with Roger!! I suspect  that Roger was hopeful of future formal wedding ceremonies of his grandchildren.

In fairness to Roger, he did say farewell to in excess to 50 ties and around 10 shirts a little later in the evening.

Roger and Pat arrived in Tenterfield in 1963 with their very small family of Leith and Kirsty in tow. ‘Keba’ was purchased a few years later and what seems to be a lifetime of renovations and additions commenced.

Within 5 years of Tenterfield residency, Roger was to commence the start of an amazing balancing act – providing for and successfully launching an instantaneously large family.  The arrival of twins in November, 1966 followed by quins 13 months later quashed any plans for an early retirement. As an aside, it seems strange that whoever adapted the WELCOME TO TENTERFIELD sign in 1968 to include HOME OF THE BRAHMAN BULL, missed the opportunity to put additional signage on the house KEBA CRECHE. It was noted at the time that whoever the sign writer was, they demonstrated a measure of forethought for potential legal action by putting an extra letter in the name.

While Roger was adept at managing complex situations, he also demonstrated the capacity to master some of the more mundane aspects of life when they were required – if he wasn’t adept at nappy changes before 1967, he definitely mastered the skill at that point. He was also quite chuffed when discussing his shopping and cooking in more recent years. Who would have ever thought?? When Pat’s mobility declined, Roger stepped up to the plate and he became quite a dab hand at producing a very good roast dinner and other interesting meals.

Roger definitely appreciated the finer things in life and he was always a consummate host. Due to his inability to apply some moderation to food intake, Keba was to boast Tenterfield’s first sauna in the late 60’s. I would suspect that Roger thought the sauna would allow him carte blanche. Equally, I am sure that Pat would have advised Roger that a bit of physical exercise would achieve the same results!

I would respectfully suggest that Roger initiated several firsts in family life style and management – Pat’s role in these areas is unknown. Parent’s retreats were unheard of in the 1970’s but Keba sure ended up with a very large one well before they were fashionable!  Moving such a large family around also created no problem for Roger. Simply have a vehicle specialist install 2 bench seats and 4 additional seat belts in the back of the Holden station wagon and then roof racks for the luggage. Thanks to Pat’s precision packing, all luggage and non human goods fitted on the roof racks.

As everyone here knows, Roger did like a modicum of order in his life and long journeys in a car filled to the brim with children was not conducive to peace and serenity. Rogers solution - lead the family ‘singalong’ through the complete range of Rolf Harris songs. Suffice it to say, Roger has made some very strong statements about the non musical actions of Mr Harris.

In technological terms, Roger was the ‘Mr Google’ of the period prior to the internet and search engines. As a prolific reader with a thirst for new knowledge, there were very few cultural or literary areas that Roger could not speak upon with some authority. He had a mind like a steel trap and managed to retain all he read. He recount of stories or information was always interesting.

Roger  had a full knowledge of everything in his substantial book collection as Leith, Prue and I were to learn during the final “Keba” pack. Roger appeared during his lunch break and asked if we had packed 2 books ‘From Westminster to Waterloo” and the History of the Small family in Australia. We replied “yes” but as Roger couldn’t immediately locate them in the designated boxes, we knew action was required. (That something was to Google the titles, publishers and place order.) A few weeks later, Roger located these 2 books but in the meantime, Prue had located and purchased copies from their English publishers…..at significant expense. He could command respect whatever the situation!!!

While Roger had an amazing academic and community skill set, such was not the case in relation to everyday practical knowledge. Roger was definitely NOT blessed with any innate mechanical or construction based skills or any of the associated safety aspects. This particular gap in his vast repertoire was to result in a reasonably serious accident -Roger tipping his ride-on mower and doing significant damage to his foot. I do recall Pat’s comment but it would be highly inappropriate to share at this time.

Roger’s attempts in this area had differing levels of success. He would often ‘have a go’ and those nearby would often hear the words ‘bloody stupid thing’ when his effort had been unsuccessful. While heavy or mechanical garden maintenance were not Roger’s forte, it would be remiss not to acknowledge his skill in the planning, development and planting of the magnificent Keba gardens and surrounds and the initial  home restoration and renovations.

Roger weathered challenging times stoically. The loss of Geoffery under the media spotlight glare and then 3 years later Kirsty, were indeed sad times for Roger and Pat. Together, they withstood these two significant challenges.

He was thoughtful and measured in his approach but I would strongly suspect there may be some family related stories to the contrary, given there were 6 young adults exploring their teen years and boundaries at the same time!! I have been reliably informed that the teenage years stories are best left alone.

While Roger enjoyed formal social gatherings and dinner parties (of which there were many), he valued the times when he and Pat could sit on the front verandah at ‘Keba’ sharing a quiet drink in the evening. He was a loving husband and father and grandfather.

Essentially, Roger lived a full and varied life. He provided quality legal advice and representation for over half a century. He took the greatest of pride in the pursuits of his children and grandchildren and proudly shared these. As his family grew and scattered, Roger ensured all were kept abreast of happenings by producing the weekly ‘Keba’ newsletter.  He loved his overseas jaunts and experiencing the many historical sites and artefacts about which he had so much knowledge. His love of music is well known. Attending the Opera was like winning the lottery for him. I am convinced that his appreciation of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas stemmed from their witty and satiric lyrics. Those who have travelled with Roger know that classical music was the only option, despite many years of complaints from his offspring. 

Quite recently, we were reminded that it can be a quite difficult to ‘out manoeuvre’ Roger on matters that were important to him. Such was the case when he wanted to have his licence reinstated following his treatment. We thought we had organised his schedule so that he wouldn’t have time to visit the RMS. Not so…..Roger asked Jenny for a lift to the bank. About 30 minutes later, he arrived back at ‘Rannes’ proudly displaying his licence. He did also visit the bank. The abiding but unstated thought of all present was ‘Watch out Armidale!’

As you would expect, Roger adapted well to his new life in Armidale. Not many people attend hospital for weekly treatment and leave with a social invitation. With care for Pat being unavailable locally, Roger was keen to be close. As expected, he established workable weekly routines with some family assistance with Pat being his priority. Being able to visit Pat on a nearly daily basis gave him comfort. He was purposeful and positive throughout his life and this was particularly evident during his last 12 months.

Roger has left many lasting legacies and has shown us that life is not a matter of counting years, it’s a matter of making years count.

Roger made his years count, He has enriched our lives in many different ways. His company was widely enjoyed and appreciated. His expertise in legal matters was widely acknowledged.

He will be long remembered and sadly missed.