AustLit

'Collected here are some of the best examples of this intriguing oral tradition, the eulogy. Each is a moving, compelling and entertaining story in its own right. And the sum of these parts reveals something about the character of being Australian - that we bury even our most significant citizens not with the overblown pomp for which Americans and British strain, but with proper recognition that even our greatest are human beings possessed of good and bad qualities....

'Some of the eulogies [...] included are: Richie Benaud speaking in the Adelaide Cathedral at the funeral of Sir Donald Bradman, Jacki Weaver at the funeral of her former lover Richard Wherrett, Garry McDonald at Ruth Cracknell's funeral, Frank Hardy on Fred Hollows and Sir Ninian Stephen on 'Weary' Dunlop.' (Publisher's blurb)