THE story of Bes Murray’s philosophy on life will forever be told after close friend, Frank Silvester donated a copy of his biography to Kerang’s Sir John Gorton Library.
Mr Silvester, from Kerang, and Australian aboriginal identity, Mr Murray, 87, grew up on opposite sides of the Murrumbidgee River in Balranald, New South Wales during their childhood.
“He lived with our family for three months after he located his mother deceased at the family home. My mother and second eldest sister went back with him to tidy things up,” Mr Silvester said.
“I was away at boarding school at this time, but he had all my three sisters living with him. My parents knew him long before as at the age of 15 he worked with my father in cutting red gum and box wood for the steam engines.
“They had great respect for him and was regarded very highly as an important custodian for his people.”
Mr Murray’s biography, Bes: The Best of Two Worlds, was launched on March 5 at the iconic Yanga Homestead in Balranald. Eleven days later he passed away.
The book details the life of ‘Bes’, an aboriginal man brought up on a reserve at Balranald who became overseer of the largest freehold property in the southern hemisphere, Yanga Station.
Mr Murray has been described as the link and common thread between the past, present and future of European and Indigenous Australia.
The story, written in his voice and illustrated with photographs that capture the triumphs and tribulations of his extraordinary life, follows his years growing up as a boxer, a jockey, a backjump rider with the famous Thorpe McConville Wild Australia Show, a respected elder of the Mildura Koori Court and an Australia Day ambassador.
The book was presented to the Gannawarra Library Services manager, Kerri Sidorow recently on behalf of Frank and Dawn Silvester.
“Bes had close relatives in Kerang, like Lloyd Murray, and people have a special connection in the district to Bes and his philosophy on life and living together,” Mr Silvester said.
Ms Sidorow thanked the Silvesters for the generous donation of the book, which can be loaned for up to four weeks from the biography section of the library.
“It is a lovely thought to donate the book to the library,” she said.
“I am sure it will be quite popular because Bes has links to people living in the district. Library users particularly enjoy rural and outback Australia stories.”
