Vale Ron Boswell, the ‘unmade bed’ who kept turning up

He was an unconventional character, an original product, and looked like an unmade bed.

Long-serving, extraordinary, perpetually wizened National Senator Ron Boswell, who died Jan. 6, was remembered as all these things and much more at his funeral service in the state Friday.

The pews at St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane were packed with mourners, including current and former premiers, state premiers and opposition leaders; they were all fanning themselves in the stifling conditions.

Even though Mr Boswell grew up in Doodlakine, Western Australia, they heard the story of the Queensland champion.

Blessed Father Michael Twigg said Mr Boswell was the first resident of the small Wheatbelt town to attend a state funeral.

The memoir is called Not Pretty, But Highly Effective, and his daughter Cathy told the service that Mr Boswell “was often told he looked like an unmade bed.”

Former prime minister John Howard has paid tribute to the man who served as parliamentary secretary in his government and also led the National Party in the Senate for a record 17-year tenure.

He said Mr. Boswell’s kindness and dignity were respected on both sides of politics.

Mr Howard also underlined the former senator’s staunch opposition to extremists on his side, citing a speech in April 1988 in which Mr Boswell warned against the far-right Rights League.

“This was an entity that was maliciously trying to infiltrate right-wing and centre-right parties, including the National Party,” Mr Howard said.

“One of the key clarification calls was anti-Semitism, and in today’s context all Australians should be concerned because this is an evil that must be identified and eradicated.”

Mr Howard did not mention Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, of which Mr Boswell was also a harsh critic.

In his farewell speech to the Senate, Mr Boswell claimed defeating Ms Hanson and her “aggressive, narrow view of Australia” in 2001 was his greatest political achievement.

But Mr Howard said Mr Boswell was a firm believer in the Liberal-National Party coalition and that during periods of hostility between the two “we will give each other ample space”.

“We both knew common sense would prevail in the end,” he said.

Mr. Howard said you could never escape Ron Boswell’s phone call; This is a topic discussed in the service as well.

Cathy Boswell said her father “called frequently and never accepted that if you didn’t answer you wouldn’t be available.”

Father Twigg later confirmed that he missed nine calls from Mr. Boswell during a single service.

Ms. Boswell said her father did not have an easy life, but among his favorite aphorisms was “calm seas do not make good sailors.”

His greatest struggle was the sudden death of his 30-year-old son Stephen in 1999.

He said he chose service over despair, in keeping with one of his father’s favorite sayings: “Those who show up rule the world.”

And Mr. Boswell continued to show up, “persistent and unapologetic, often camping outside John Howard’s office until a result was achieved for his constituents.”

Mr. Howard said Mr. Boswell saw greater favor when it came to gun law reform after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, ignoring the opposition of others in his party and many of those same voters.

Still, there was always a pound of meat to pay.

“This meant you occasionally gave a few hundred million to one person or another to legally meet Australia’s regional needs,” Mr Howard said.

“We thank you and thank God for you. Rest in eternal peace.”

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