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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-11-27 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

Beames, Sgt R.P.

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (15:11): I rise today with a great level of regret to recognise and acknowledge the life of Sergeant Rodney Beames. On Monday night this week, the West Beach Neighbourhood Watch held their first meeting since the passing of their long-time chair, Mr Rod Beames, and there was certainly something missing at that meeting.

Rod has been an integral part of the West Beach community and the community in South Australia for a significant period of time, and his contributions to so many of our local community groups, sporting clubs and, to be completely honest, the suburb generally, have been immeasurable. Rod was very proudly not just involved in those local community groups but also was the president of the Royal South Australian Regiment Association due to his meritorious service in our armed forces.

Rod joined the Australian Citizen's Military Forces as a signaller in 1968, and later transferred to the infantry in 1970 before reaching the rank of sergeant and instructing many recruits in promotional courses at the Hampstead Barracks, El Alamein, Torrens Training Depot, Murray Bridge and many other locations across the years. He served with the 144th Signal Squadron, 43 RSAR, 27 RSAR, 4 Training Group and 10 RSAR, and was well known for his loud, booming voice that certainly continued into his later years and later service and contribution through many other organisations.

Rod was probably most well known in the local West Beach area as chair of the community Bendigo Bank. He had been the chairman there for I think nearly 20 years. As part of that role, he had the opportunity to touch just about every sporting club and community organisation in the local area. Most recently, one of the projects that Bendigo Bank supported was an expansion of an overhead shade structure at the Henley and Grange RSL, just to the west of the clubrooms. Rightfully so, given his connection to the RSL generally as well, a plaque was erected to recognise his memory on that new structure in just the last couple of weeks.

As I said, Rod's involvement was vast and varied, whether that was as Chair of the Bendigo Bank or as Chair of the West Beach Neighbourhood Watch group. He was also the secretary of the SA Shack Owners Association. He was the president of the Kellidie Bay Shack Owners Association. He was involved with the Adelaide Airport Consultative Committee. He was also a representative on the Defence Reserves Association of SA and it just goes to show the breadth and involvement that Rod had across many, many areas. Very few people have had as much impact on their local community as he has had.

I just want to recognise his passion for improving the local area with simple things like the change of the traffic sequences at traffic lights and intersections, through to the upgrade of Apex Park, in particular. He was like a dog with a bone when it came to the need for increased parking for a park which was, essentially, on a main road and which did not have adequate parking and needed more, through to development issues with Adelaide Airport, West Beach Road and so many other local grassroots issues. The West Beach community has one of the strongest Neighbourhood Watch organisations in the whole of South Australia and that is in no way, shape or form due to any other factors but Rod's involvement over the years. His ability to grab other involved community members, to build consensus and to have his finger in just so many pies was exemplary.

He had a long and protracted battle with cancer and was just one of those people who you would always want to sit down with, have a beer with and have a chat with, because that was the sort of bloke he was. To his son-in-law Michael, who has taken on the role as acting chair of the Neighbourhood Watch in Rod's absence, thank you for what you are doing. But to Sergeant Rodney Beames, vale.

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