Kendal Oswald Binns - RIP

DR KENDAL OSWALD BINNS. 

 Kendal Binns was born 10 March 1923. He died on 11 December 2022 aged 99. 

It is with deep sadness and with sympathy for Kendal’s family that the Club records the death of our oldest former player, the oldest former 1st Grader (1st Grade 1941-44, cap no316), and the oldest former Cricket Blue (1942). 

After playing 1st Grade, Dr Binns played for the Sydney University Veterans for many years. 

The following eulogy was given by his daughter, Helen Lowe. 

Kendal Oswald Binns

He was batting beautifully and had reached a well compiled 99, looking comfortably towards his century when he was inexplicably bowled by a dubious ball from Covid Pneumonia. Thus ended the innings of my Dad, Kendal Oswald Binns.

Today I want to try and shed some light on what it was like to be the daughter of this wonderful man and some of the history which shaped his life. Funerals are stage managed affairs and even the time that we have today is hardly enough to do Dad justice. I will miss things and people and I am sorry for that, but following speakers will fill in some gaps.

So, let me begin by welcoming you all and thanking you for coming along to help us say goodbye to a wonderful father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend to many past and present.

Dad as born on the 10th of March 1923 to Ella and Oswald Binns of Bondi. He was one of two children, his elder sister , Marcia, to whom he was very close, passed away in 2013. Aunty Marcia's second son Howard is more than a cousin to me and we were more like brother and sister when we were younger. My other cousin, who bears dad's name, Kendal, cannot be here today but is represented by his son Earl.

Dad attended Bondi Public School ( that is when he didn't beat his mother home in the morning). He subsequently went to Randwick Intermediate High and Sydney Boys High School for his final two years--obtaining his Leaving Certificate in 1940. He always said that notwithstanding the Great Depression, that these were idyllic years where sport, the beach and a generally healthy lifestyle took precedence over academic achievement. My grandfather was a pharmacist so dad was fortunate that he could be reasonably supported during these formative and difficult years. It was here that his sporting prowess came through. Dad captained both the Randwick High 1st XI as well as the Sydney High School 1st XI in his final year. He also led both the CHS and GPS premiership winning teams and in addition, played in the AW Green Shield and Poidevin Gray competitions for Waverly Cricket Club. He also represented Sydney High in their athletics team for the years that he attended the school. Dad was a School Prefect during his final year.

He had a natural ability for many sports and over the years he enjoyed Swimming, Athletics, Baseball, Tennis, Snow Skiing and of course his beloved cricket. In his mature years, his passion above all was Golf and even at 99, he was prepared to change his style, stance and grip in the unending quest to master the game.

After being accepted into Sydney University in 1941 to study Dentistry, he was immediately selected in the Uni First grade team. Dad also joined the University Baseball club and starred there as well. Ultimately he received double Blues for baseball and cricket. He was selected in the Baseball best ever team of the 1941 to 1970 era--so must have been pretty good! In both of these sports he played against many of the greats of the time. However, the best aspect of sport is the people that you play with or against and he made many lifetime friends during those years. One of these friends was the late Arthur  Morris ( who represented Australia in cricket from 1946--55) and who also became one of Dad's  patients.  They would apparently have spirited arguments about umpiring decisions for all test matches  between Dad drilling and Arthur rinsing out. Prior to Dad's passing, he was apparently the oldest living Uni first grade cricketer. Dad met lifelong friends such as Doctors Bob Norton,  John and Ray Newman and Jim Gillies, either  through the faculty, cricket or baseball. He later played on with the Vets until the 1960's. All the wives formed a strong bond through having to sit for many hours around the boundary at cricket. It has been reported that dad, as a member of the Shewahwah Boys was introduced to creme de menthe and a pale ale bearing his initials at this time. He also enjoyed a tipple or two of good whisky with his friend John Newman each week for many years. A beer after golf with his golfing partners and mates remained a treasured habit which was his only drinking vice in his senior years.

Dad continued with his baseball and was proudly a member of the NSW undefeated Jubilee Claxton Shield winning team of 1951. Baseball NSW will have an obituary to this effect in their forthcoming newsletter to members.

The war placed great demands on limited manpower and it was all hands to the pump in those years. Upon graduating with a 2nd Class Honours degree, Dad joined the army as a dentist. He was appointed to captain rank and posted to Darwin. This was at a time when the war had moved on and Darwin was no longer classified as being in the war zone. He did however, tell me some interesting stories about dental examinations of Japanese prisoners whilst under armed guard. At least he was never shot at! Dad stayed in the Army until 1947 and was finally posted to Victoria Barracks in Paddington.

It was at this time that he met Mum who was a nurse at St Luke's hospital, not too far away. They were married in 1948 at All Saints Anglican Church Woollahra, which incidentally, was the church where dad had sung in the choir. I, their only child was born the following year.

An old story relates to Dad and his close friends, Dr Bob Norton and Colin Ayres. Sports mad Dad and Uncle Bob had preferred sons but got daughters instead whereas Uncle Col, who was not so sporty got a son. Uncle Bob"s wife Betty, subsequently had a son, David. The upshot of this is that I became the sports mad PE teacher with Di Norton a dietician and Rob Ayres, a doctor. It is lovely to see Rob and David both here today.

 Mum and Dad were married for 74 years and Mum finally lost her battle with dementia on the 14th of October this year. Their's was a close but interesting relationship where they were very much opposite people. Mum was not in the least sporty but very competent with her hands. Whilst she was a dominant partner, Dad managed to be able to work within that framework to do his own thing much of the time. On the other hand, there were many things that he would not do without Mum's say so.

They spent their early married life at Rushcutter's Bay and built the family home at Epping where they resided for 62 years until finally moving to the Alan Walker Village at Carlingford. This was largely due to the work of an old neighbour, Fiona Johnson, who had put the seed into dad's mind. Many thanks to Fiona, John and Eileen Richardson ( who made dad's life so much better with their friendship and support) as well as Fiona Serafin from the Village Administration who also took mum and dad to heart. I am greatly indebted to each of them. Through John and Eileen, dad lately was able to renew his love for choral music through visiting concerts at the Alan Walker village.

Their 62 years at Epping covered my growing and teenage years. I must also mention another member of the family at Epping. A blue heeler who wandered into High Street as a puppy, covered in ticks--was cleaned up, fed and cuddled and we named him Rajah. He was a ferocious guard dog in his youth and was much loved and petted during his 17 years with us. It wasn't long before there was a series of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with which dad would dog sit on the front lawn talking to the neighbours. This is where he would have met his good friend Tony Southall. Many a time Mum found herself in the spare room or the back seat of the car due to a dog's presence.

Dad was a wonderful supportive father to me growing up and we were and remained very close. He would get up early to take me to swimming training, would sit on the side line at tennis, not always in a good mood which was related to whether I was winning or losing. Dad and I were/are very competitive. At my School Athletics, he won all of the parents races until my last year when he was beaten by the father of a kindy kid--not  happy. In our first ever father/daughter swimming race--we won first prize which to our dismay, was a screwdriver. Ultimately he regularly took me for 9 holes of golf on a Sunday afternoon at Pennant Hills Golf club although I had a sneaking suspicion that there may have been an additional motive to go to that venue. In the middle years Dad and I played in the Lillian Marks Canadian foursomes at Pennant Hills--we never won it, thanks to the formidable pair of Tony and Wendy Gresham who were generally invincible. Dad  played in the ADA golf days ( I started the field)for many years. Mum and Barbara Hale undertook all of the preliminary set up on the morning of competition.. Dad with Rob Watson, Graeme Lowe and the committee organised the golf day for many years. I could tell some great stories about these events but you will appreciate that what happens on the golf course---stays on the golf course. Dad was involved with the sports committee which managed all of the ADA sporting activities for some 65 years.

I have a couple of anecdotes from Sue Mc Murchie, John Newman's daughter who lived several doors up the street from us.

The GPS head of the River regattas--our old Holden was swathed in chocolate and sky streamers and balloons for Uncle Kendal's Sydney High and yellow and black for my dad's Grammar. Much banter would take place between Epping and Penrith.

Dad and uncle Kendal were each other's dentist. Uncle K would get off the train at West Ryde and walk to dad's surgery and hop into the chair. When his consult was completed, they would swap places and Uncle K would return the favour. They were such great friends.

I tried to home in on when they actually first met and asked a number of people. I finally asked my sister Jan who said--"no idea-as it was so long ago".

Further to  Sue's regatta story, years later, Dad asked me to place the Sydney High flag at a certain spot near the finish line. When he later asked me what had happened I said that I didn't know because Sydney High had not passed the flag before we left.

Whilst Darcy will talk about the golf club and Dad, I just have to mention that Dad was always the one who would scurry down into the gully to retrieve errant  balls--he supplied himself, the juniors and his family with golf balls for many years thereafter, A new gofer is now required.

Another of dad's dental involvements was with Lodge Apollonia which was initiated in 1954. He later affiliated with the United Grand lodge. He and mum were involved in a lot of charitable work during this period. His Masonic involvement reduced in later years following closure of his lodge.

Dad was family orientated and always took an interest in his grandchildren. he supported them in their various activities and even installed a pool in his backyard for family use. Kristina will elaborate further on this. His immediate family now consists of myself and my partner Peter Lozan, My children  Anthony and Kristina and their respective spouses, Cynthia Lowe and Matt Falzon.  Great grandchildren, Ava and Fletcher Falzon and Ryan and Jessica Lowe. My former husband Graeme Lowe who was a fellow dentist and good friend of Dad's is also here today. It is interesting to note that Graeme also became a captain in the dental corps when called up for his national service. Our son Anthony similarly reached captain's rank and served in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. This made for three generations of Army Captains in the family.

Dad was an old school gentleman and a truly gentle man. He was loved and appreciated by many and his network of contacts over the years, particularly in the professions, was legendary.

It is clear that dad was still struggling with Mum's passing although we had hopes that he was starting to broaden his activities in the village. Pennant Hills Golf Club still called and his Wednesday golf was a must. He was very proud that the club saw fit to award him life membership last year for his long service.

It is only in the last three weeks that he went down hill. Up until that point, he was still able to drive locally and to the golf club and undertake most activities. Cooking, however remained a challenge which Pete and I increasingly attended to. His deterioration started with him only being able to complete 9 holes of golf followed by an ambulance trip to the SAN the next morning. Things moved rapidly from that point. Sadly Covid with pneumonia reared their ugly head and he passed away Sunday afternoon 11 Dec.  During his final days we talked about the past, he gave me instructions to return his Delta Sigma Delta Fraternity Pin, find his blazers from the top cupboard and he said how wonderful the doctors ( Barto, Zad and Yah Yah) had been. He also mentioned how much he would have looked froward to Fay Selig's wonderful Christmas shortbread. The experienced Edwina Spooner's intervention with the nursing staff led to me being able to visit during Covid. Ellie-his favourite nurse also supported his needs. Ellie said that he kept saying, and this would have been typical of Dad, "I don't want to be a nuisance". Dad's final words to me were "Helen, please, please let me go--I just can't breathe".

 Dad you are with mum now. We all thank you and our love and memories for you will live on for ever.