Malcolm Fraser, former prime minister, farewelled at state funeral

27 Mar 2015,

Family and friends of former prime minister Malcolm Fraser have filled Scots' Church in Melbourne for his state funeral.

Mr Fraser rose to power during one of the most turbulent periods in Australian politics and served as prime minister between November 1975 and March 1983.

He died last week after a brief illness aged 84.

Mr Fraser entered Parliament in 1955 as its youngest MP and spent nearly 20 years as a backbencher and in the ministry before his controversial rise to power in the wake of Gough Whitlam's dismissal.

Peter Nixon, a parliamentary colleague of Mr Fraser and a long-time family friend, delivered the eulogy to the 600 mourners who packed into the church, and to many more outside.

Tamie Fraser (centre), widow of Malcolm Fraser looks on as the hearse leaves carrying his coffin at Scots Church. Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

"Malcolm Fraser has gone. Much has been written and said, some of it gratuitous, most of it praiseworthy," he said.

"One thing is certain. The country has lost a unique and great Australian.

"From the start it was apparent to me that Malcolm was sure to succeed. His contributions were always thoughtful. It was clear he was bound up in his work."

Mr Fraser is survived by his wife Tamie and their four children Mark, Angela, Hugh and Phoebe.

Hugh Fraser told the congregation his father was a man to be reckoned with, resilient and a patriot.

"He loved Australia. He was not merely one of its sons, but one of its most fervent custodians," he said.

"I feel the world is slightly less safe now. There were no days when in his life where he woke and ceased to care about current affairs.

"Regardless of whether he was right or wrong in his actions, this sense of responsibility endured to the end."

Mr Fraser's granddaughter Hester sang an emotional song of her own composition.

"You are not here for the universe to roam ... but the magnanimity of your ideas will never die," she sang.

"And that is why we only say goodbye ... until we meet again."

Another granddaughter, Rachel, talked about the former leader's adoption of social media.

"After a few long conversations about both Twitter and Facebook, at the age of 81 grandad seemed to have his accounts up and running in no time and became more active than all of us put together," she said.

"I still remember the cheeky grin on his face when he said: 'I've got 20,000 followers ... how many do you have, Rach?'

"He was a joker at heart ... it was clear granddad was most relaxed at home with his family."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and other key members of the Government attended the service, along with former prime ministers John Howard, Paul Keating and Julia Gillard.

Among the absentees were Bob Hawke, Kevin Rudd and Governor-General Peter Cosgrove, who were all overseas.

Dozens of members of the Vietnamese community also gathered outside the church to pay their respects to Mr Fraser, who was regarded as playing a significant role in the rise in Australia's multiculturalism.

Many laid wreaths and carried signs that displayed the message "Farewell to our true champion of humanity: Malcolm Fraser".

"We were refugees from Vietnam and my family arrived in Indonesia as refugee and thanks to Malcolm Fraser's policy at the time we were welcomed to Australia as refugee in 1979," Vietnamese community leader Phuong Nguyen said.

"Later on when I studied history at Melbourne University, I realised how significant it was."

Mr Fraser also embraced Aboriginal land rights, led the Commonwealth push to end apartheid in South Africa and argued for an independent Zimbabwe.

In 1982, amid the backdrop of a looming recession, drought and social unrest, Mr Fraser called a snap election and lost to Labor's Bob Hawke.

At the end of the funeral service Mr Fraser's coffin was placed into a hearse which was then escorted by a lone piper playing Lord Lovat's Lament, a clan Fraser march.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the funeral of former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. AP Photo/Theo Karanikos Source: AP