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In mourning Australia dealing with death of cricket legend
Updated: Sunday February 25, 2001 9:55 PM
SYDNEY (Reuters) -- The passing of Sir Donald Bradman marked not only the death of a cricketing legend but a spiritual moment in the history of Australia. The bush telegraph burned bright on Monday as news of the death of "The Don" spread across this sunburnt land. From rural Cootamundra, Bradman's birthplace, to the dusty outback Birdsville Track and the gleaming high-rises of Sydney, Australians gathered at petrol pumps and around corner stores. All asked the same thing: "Did ya hear? Bradman's dead." Within minutes of the news that Bradman had died in his sleep at age 92 on Sunday, Australia was in mourning. "For many Australians the passing of Sir Donald Bradman will be like a death in the family. He was an icon, an exemplar, a hero," Labor opposition leader Kim Beazley said. Flags flew at half mast in Cootamundra. Rush hour traffic slowed in some towns. The boss of Australia's biggest grocer Woolworths began a company briefing with a tribute to Bradman. "People are in a daze. The streets are quiet. I am sad and driving around in a daze," said George, 30, a talkback radio caller from one small town. But it was a national sadness not just for the passing of a man, but for what he represented. For millions "The Don" was the quintessential Australian. He was a man who rose from humble beginings in a small country town to be the world's greatest test cricketer. Bradman rewrote cricket's record books in the 1930s and 1940s by scoring 6,996 runs in 52 tests at an average of 99.94. No other player before or since has come close. "Poetry and murder lived in him together. He would slice the bowling to rhythms and dance without pity on the corpse," wrote one poet of Bradman's cricketing feats. But despite his fame Bradman remained an egalitarian man, forever helping charities and young sportsmen and women. "He was the most famous Australian ever, a national talisman, the taciturn symbol of an unpretentious country," said Mike Rann, Labor opposition leader in Bradman's home state South Australia. But many Australians saw his death as marking the end of an era when Australia was a fairer place to live. "He was imbued with the spirit of fair play. A lot of that is passing, Australia is changing. We should look back on people like Sir Don and grab hold of what they gave us," said John, another talkback radio caller. In this digital age, radios crackled all day with the ageing broadcasts of Bradman at the crease, thwaking willow on leather to score another of his centuries. While Australia has changed dramatically from the monochrome nation when a sandy-haired Bradman sliced the ball with a graceful sweeping stroke to today's multi-cultural melting pot, Bradman's appeal has never wained. "His memorial is, in a sense, a personal and almost spiritual one, it's the special place he's had in the affections of our community," said cricketing fanatic Prime Minister John Howard. "He was more than just a great cricketer and a great sportsman, he was a dominant Australian personality in a way that I don't think any other person has been in the last 100 years." Bradman received some 4,000 letters a week, from young and old alike, and until ill health prevented it answered all. Writers, poets and songwriters have for 50 years tried to explain why Bradman captured not only the hearts of Australians of his generation, but those who were born long after he retired. "When Aunty Duckie danced with Donald Bradman she said it was the highlight of her life, that wizard of the willow swept her off her feet, along with all Australians, every man on the street, Sir Don you gave us pride in ourselves," sang country western singer John Williamson. "His innings may have closed but his legacy will forever live on in the hearts of millions of Australians," said former Australian Test cricket captain Mark Taylor.
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