A family get together yesterday

The late Jim McMenamin was honoured on Friday, as a plaque was unveiled at the Bathurst Sportsground in recognition of his extraordinary life.

HONOURED: Gabrielle and Les Ford, Mary and Patrick McMenamin, Christine Colley, Cathy Martin and Judy Linderman. Photo: BRADLEY JURD

His son Patrick addressed family and friends and said it was very pleasing to see his father recognised.
“At the time of his funeral I borrowed the phrase, that he was indeed a renascence man. He was a scholar, a sportsman and a decorated soldier. This was the model.”
“In many, many ways he was an unsung hero and there are many unsung heroes in Australia that do remarkable things.”
Jim was born in Bathurst in 1910 and while a student at the University of Sydney, he played rugby league for University, Balmain and Newtown clubs between 1929 and 1932.
In 1937 he moved to South Africa to participate in a teacher exchange and joined the army when wore broke out.

In 1946 he married Joan Purcell, who had been an Australian army nurse in the Pacific theatre of war.
In South Africa, he umpired four cricket Tests – two versus England in 1956-57 and two against Australia in 1957-58.
Jim returned to Bathurst in 1960 and was heavily active in the cricket community.
He passed away after a long and richly varied life on August 13, 2000



The Western Advocate Bathurst 11/11/2017