Neale Fursdon, the gentle giant who fought cartels and became an angel in Asia

Soon Furso found a new passion; policing abroad.

In Papua New Guinea, he tried to convince local police of the importance of taking notes. That was until he came to read the guardhouse notes. “Prisoner 15 tried to escape. We beat him hard in the panel.” Maybe there is too much information.

He trained local police in Fiji and other islands. He eventually resigned from Victoria Police and worked with AusAID (Australian Agency for International Development), USAID and the UN in Bangladesh, Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar, providing police training and investigating drug smuggling and human trafficking.

He found fishing ships whose crews had been kidnapped from the islands, paid no wages and never allowed to land, and islands where hundreds of people were held captive to be used as slaves.

He threw a surprise birthday party for Wendy’s 50th birthday, and she began slurring her words. At a doctor’s appointment a few days later, it was revealed that he had an aggressive brain tumor.

With Neale’s support, he took up Buddhist meditation and lived a quality life for another 10 years. He would often take her to his retreats in the mountains and stay in the valley. Neale had his ashes taken to a resting place overlooking the ocean and said he could see why he loved it there.

If I was near Wangaratta and he was in town we would catch up. He showed me his new house by the river.

The last time I saw him was at another cop’s funeral; This is a very common occurrence these days. We decided to have a regular lunch in Melbourne.

Loading

Then came the news that Neale was seriously ill and in hospital. The cancer he had years ago had recurred from somewhere else. His family set up a group chat for many of their friends.

I always knew he was a great man and a great cop. Now I know he is so much more.

Message after message from people across Southeast Asia expressed how Neale helped them, opening his doors to those in need of shelter, helping others finish their college classes, and being charitable to others. Someone referred to him as “God’s Angel.”

He would take a second suitcase full of medical supplies with him on many of his trips. He would drop it off at a designated spot to be picked up by an oppressed group, no questions asked.

Here are some of the messages I received.

• “Having worked in Myanmar for years, he has a deep love for my home country and continues to support those affected there. He is the kind of man who quietly helps where he can.”

• “I know I can always count on him. Interestingly, I’ve never seen him angry. Sometimes I wonder if he knows how to be.”

• “I met my wife, Pwint, nine years ago. You couldn’t meet Pwint without knowing Neale. He was always looking out for her, always there, giving advice and offering help. He proposed to Pwint and Wendy during COVID [her daughter] “We provided their accommodation and made sure they completed their education.”

• “She tirelessly helps others, giving job advice, refereeing applications, and supporting promotions. She supported communities in Asia during the pandemic, including our former office cleaner (she treats everyone the same).”

Neale would be the ideal recipient of the Order of Australia; He hasn’t done anything yet to be recognized. Some people make noise. Others are making signs.

Colleagues, old friends and those he touched made their way to Hume to say goodbye. He had to hold his grandchild once again. He passed away peacefully in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Neale is gone and the world is poorer for it.

His family’s legacy is sons Tom and Sam, both crack men. His personal and spiritual legacy spans hundreds of thousands of square kilometers throughout the Pacific and Southeast Asia.