Don Beer’s family said all the right things about Don in the funeral director’s small chapel in North Canberra where they farewelled him. He was patient, generous and understanding with those with whom he came into contact. He was an accomplished scholar who taught modern history to University of New England students from 1964 to 1998.
In his later days Don researched and wrote a history of the National Botanic Gardens in Canberra.
Miracle on Black Mountain – A History of the Australian National Botanic Gardens, was a very substantial ‘retirement achievement’. It should inspire (or shame!) all of us who fail to undertake successful projects after a standard ‘working life’. Don came to love the botanic Gardens as a volunteer and researcher after he and Ella had moved from Armidale to Canberra. Miracle on Black Mountain is highly regarded; it covers the period from the very first days of Canberra to the present.[1]
During the earlier years in Armidale with them, their place at 24 Curtis Street had been a second home for us. Don was witty and learned in a crafty under-stated or modest fashion. He was a wonderful companion to Ella and a terrific grandad.
The portrait of him mounted in the corner of the chapel during the ceremony saw him beaming down on us and caught him beautifully with his grey eyebrows and confident, knowing grin. (Given his wishes for a send-off that was modest in every way, it’s not certain that he would have used the word ‘ceremony’, given its suggestion of formality, ritual and symbolism. ‘Service’ would have been worse, with its religious connotations. He would have known the best word.)
The word or characteristic I would add to those selected by his family in their tributes is ‘class’. Don was a class act in terms of the way he went about his business, whether his professional teaching and writing, his performances at bridge and with a cryptic crossword, or as a carer who actively extended his gentle concern to others around him, especially those less fortunate.
Ella, Gill, Joe, Tom, Josh and his Canberra granddaughters did a fine job in their contributions to the event in the chapel. They performed with class and distinction that reflected well on Don. It was unfortunate that Tom and Jenny and their children were unable to attend in person due to the constraints caused by the pandemic. The event was streamed and I hope Tom and family felt a close part of it.
Tom mentioned his dad’s prowess on the squash court. Many of my personal memories of time with Don are from the hockey and cricket fields. In these pursuits as others Don was a class act. That’s not to say that he was always the best on the field, but he respected the essence of the game and those with and against whom he played. He may not have stopped the ball on a sixpence like Vern Turner, or accelerated past a defender like Keith Ellis. But he knew the game, fitted into the team whatever was expected of him, and knew the value of physical balance and aesthetic style.
In his sport as in other aspects of his life, Don displayed grace. Which is what he now deserves, given his passing.
[1] The book is available from the Botanical Bookshop at the ANBG.
