Robert Charles "Bull" Browne.  Born 21 September 1949.  Passed away 13 February 1980. 

A tribute from Howard Gault (Secretary from 1972-1979) printed in the Club Annual Report 1979-1980.

Life Member, Best Clubman, President, Secretary, Vice President, Premiership Captain, Batting and Bowling Award winner, 100 Senior matches for the Club.

A remarkable record by a remarkable man.  A record that would hold it's own in any type of Club in any grade of competition.  However, it only tells one side of the story, because there was a whole lot more to the man we all knew as "Bull".

Few people achieve the old Aussie recognition of a top bloke the way he did.  Most of us have faults or traits which annoy or upset other people.  Not so with Rob.  In 15 years, I never heard anyone run him down or speak harshly of him, he was simply a mate to all who had the pleasure of meeting him.  Sure, he did his block occasionally, but generally with good reason and no grudge after.

The hundreds of people from all Clubs and walks of life who paid tribute to him over that final weekend felt a sense of loss that is usually reserved for close family members.  And that is how we all were, part of the friendships and spirit at Lower Plenty Cricket Club that he strove so hard to develop.

Rob was absolutely devoted to the Club and during the almost 10 years that he was President, we all established and cemented a wonderful bond and friendship that was, and is, so special in any group of people.

We never achieved his dream of an A Grade flag, but to his credit, we achieved so much more.

Did any of us ever think we belonged to anything else but the best Club in the Diamond Valley?  Weren't we proud of fielding all those sides and having facilities second to none?  The old hands who went through the rough times know how good it felt to climb up there and be part of a successful Club.

The memories flood back as we think of all the great times.  Remember Bull, how proud you were of winning the inaugural "Lower Plenty Gift"?  We always thought Twinkletoes Flintstone couldn't have done any better.

Remember the trips, the all night sessions, when no one dared try to take your glass because they thought you had gone to sleep?  What about the problems you had getting out of the old concrete pool?  Remember that Sunday morning picking up all the clothes from out in the street?  Has anyone ever had a bigger smile than yours on that semi-final night when we won our way into the grand final in three separate grades?  We could go on and on.

For us, the knock on the door for the Saturday morning coffee and chat about what was planned for the weekend became a ritual that was always looked forward to.

They were the days mate, happy days, gone but never forgotten.

The word love is not generally used when men talk about another man, but I cannot think of a better one to express the way we all felt.

Farewell Bull, we miss you, so very, very, much.

Blue

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