Bobby Miller (R J Miller)

If winners are grinners then Bobby Miller came first every day of his life. Bob was not an entertainer who assumed the pseudonym of the Larrikin. He was the Larrikin!

Bob was born in Sydney in 1948 and was up and running almost immediately. He did have an education, but will admit that he was one of those underachieving boys who couldn't wait to leave school and get his hands dirty. From painting houses, to mastering all pieces of machinery on construction gangs, Bob was always an industrious worker leaving plenty of time to dive for Abalone, or go fossicking on the gem fields, with wife Sandy who he met when they were both Teenagers. His Poetry musings began in this atmosphere almost thirty years ago.

Who would have guessed The Larrikin would have been too shy to perform his winning poem at the presentation of the inaugural Blackened Billy Awards in Tamworth in 1991. When the late John Phillipson read Bob's poem everybody there realized they had heard something special and that the author was a very unique Australian.

Within twelve months, Bob was reciting his own work and went on to win many awards, including The National Country Music Muster Bush Poetry Awards. After turning professional, the accolades continued with three Bush Laureate 'Album of the Year Awards', and a prestigious Tamworth Song Writing Award. Singers such as Brian Letton, Mark Tempany and Noel Simonsen have all recorded Bob's works, and there is rarely a festival in Australia goes by where at least one of Bob's poems is not recited. This frenetic little spark of humanity absorbed knowledge like a sponge and the true measure of the man was that he chose to share it unselfishly and without exception.

Bob's writing and performance workshops were always outstanding, but most up and coming performers gained the most inspiration from simply watching Bob perform. Standing beside the stage getting ready to walk on and perform in his wake, was always an intimidating task for the next entertainer, because no-one whipped the Poetry crowds into a frenzy like the Larrikin in full flight.

On a personal note, from wood turning to homebrew, Bob was a very handy man to have around. Each year at The National Country Music Muster, Bob and his wife Sandy would turn up early to set up camp, erecting elaborate camp furniture and creating an atmosphere that welcomed not only fellow Poets and Performers but the hoards of Larrikin Club fans who followed him around the country, including a swag of wide-eyed adoring kids.

If you ever stopped to yarn with the larrikin, you realized how proud of his family he was. Sandy and Bob's three children Linda, Paul and Tammy have a total of seven grandchildren, and Bob's Mungar meadows backyard was like Disneyland. He turned his hand to anything from small wooden toys to Flying Foxes and elaborate Tree Houses and swings. And as if these avenues to vent his endless ingenuity weren't enough of an outlet , this little Bob The Builder erected his own house and was a 'carpenter on call' to family and friends for whom he would always oblige. From Backhoes to entire computer systems, there was nothing Bob was afraid to tackle. He enjoyed impressing and inspiring others with his tenacity, but he didn't want accolades, he simply wanted the next challenge.

In passing on, Bob has taken on the ultimate challenge. In recent years he knew his time here was tentative, yet the fact that his passing has stunned so many of us that knew him well, indicates just how little he dwelt on his own misfortunes.

They say most dogs will adopt the characteristics of their owners. I can still see Bob through the antics of his little fox-terrier mate Snoopy. If you ever get to watch Snoopy, you will see Bob, scampering around, always hunting up a bit of mischief and niggling at us to come outside and play with him.

Bobby Miller's poem The Bachelor

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