On August 4th Ian, ZL1BFB paid his last visit to Musick Point.

Club members, friends and family gathered in the foyer of the Memorial Station to honour his work and achievements in the brief hour before he left for the chapel at Mangere. An impressive cortege followed the hearse as it left the station and proceeded slowly along the Buckland's Beach waterfront and through Botany to Mangere Cemetery chapel where a packed crowd waited to farewell him.

Ian's interest in radio was triggered by a discarded crystal set which he repaired and listened to in bed using the wire wove mattress support for an antenna. One of his first jobs was at SOS Radio in Queen Street Auckland, where he picked up a working knowledge of radio theory and componentry. From there he moved to the Auckland telephone exchange and then on to the Radio Inspectors Branch of the Post Office, where he remained for the rest of his working life. He was trained and mentored by the late Morrie Parsons in the art of interference detection and direction finding.These were to remain the prime focus of his work until ill health forced his retirement in 1999.

Trips in the Deodar and the Westpac Helicopter while looking for EPIRB's were his especial delight-he once was stranded for several hours in Coromandel township when the helicopter was called to an emergency and could not get back to pick him up.

He was a founder member and chairman of the Suburban Amateur Radio Club, and it is due to his vision and drive that the club now occupies the Musick Memorial Radio Station. He had an excellent rapport with representatives of the various agencies who were responsible for the administration of the site, and was never happier than when he could relate the history of the station and the work of the club to a sole casual enquirer or a hall full of people. He never failed to acknowledge the help of his fellow club members and the wider Amateur community. The work will continue. His legacy is the continuation of his vision for the restoration of the station to a working entity and as a permanent home for all aspects of Amateur Radio.

The family would like to pass on their thanks for the support and kind wishes we have received over the past few weeks.

ZL1TRH