By Iris Byrne
Norman John McVicker was born on the 19th January 1920, in Tempe. Eldest son of Harold and Winifred.
His interest in writing and performing arts began in the early years. In 6th class he wrote his first stage play and later a version of Cinderella for a Younger Set. After leaving school he wrote scripts about Australian history and episodes of radio serials for the 2UW Children’s Session. His first radio play was broadcast on the 19th of January 1937 from 2SM, on his 17th birthday.
Between 1940 and 1946 he was a member of the Australian Army Service Corps. He completed a course in journalism through the Army Education Service with Alan Marshall, author of “I can Jump Puddles”.
In 1947 he founded St Peters Community Players that evolved into the Pocket Playhouse, a unique Little Theatre. The theatre operated, without subsidy, until 1973 when it closed after eighty nine seasons. During this time the Pocket Children’s Theatre emerged playing matinees on Saturdays and a professional production of Spoon River for the NSW Arts Council toured 28 country towns.
During these years he became a Council Member of the British Drama League of Australia and in 1966-71 a member of the Australian UNESCO Committee for Drama and Art having been appointed by Prime Minister, Harold Holt.
Between 1949 and 1980 he was audit manager for British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (BCPA) later integrated with QANTAS. He freely referred to BCPA as “Ben Chiefly Private Airlines”.
He and Brendan Dunne retired to Mudgee in 1980. They were both actively involved in cultural activities in Mudgee. Norman was a foundation member of Mudgee Arts Council and assisted with musical productions at St Matthew’s School and Mudgee High School.
In 1989 he commenced writing the “Tales from the Wallaby Track” for the Mudgee Guardian whilst lobbying for the restoration of Eurunderee School. He continued writing for 23 years having written 1185 local and national articles, some of which are yet to be published by the Mudgee Guardian, as he often said, that he would still be writing from his grave.
In 2003, he received the Order of Australia Medal for ‘Service to the performing arts, particularly theatre, and to the community of Mudgee‘. This was followed by Life Membership of Mudgee Arts Council for services to the arts in Mudgee.
In 2007, he received The Premier of New South Wales Service Award for outstanding services to the community to be followed the same year by 2007 Seniors’ Week Achievement Award for outstanding contribution to the community in the field of Education and Lifelong Learning.
In those years, he made many friends of all ages and backgrounds, too many to mention, many are here today. He could spend hours talking to people, exchanging life experiences with them, this gave him great pleasure. He never ran out of interesting stories to tell which captivated his listeners. He was one of life’s treasures.
When visiting Norman in recent years, you would be greeted by his security guard, a possessive cocker spaniel. He was very fond of cocker spaniels and had several throughout his lifetime.
His passion for words was also reflected in spending some of his leisure time watching Letters and Numbers Show and playing scrabble. You wouldn’t dare place a misspelt word on the board or you would get a vicious glare.
Norman was a generous and remarkable man. He touched the lives of many people wherever he went. He gave young people a great start in their careers and he was a great mentor to many people. One example, he proofread Sof’s thesis and suggested that he should be the one receiving the doctorate.
His eccentricity was undeniable and often flexed any rigidity of daily lives. For example, he would talk to Telecross members every morning longer than he should, extracting stories from them which is not permitted. Rules didn’t apply to Norman.
In later years, Sof Lee moved to Mudgee and became his carer, a task Sof carried out with great expertise, making it possible for Norman to live in his own home while pursuing his interests in writing.
There are many other examples and stories about Norman and it’s impossible to tell all of them in this Eulogy.
His passing is an End of an era.
Norman is best summed up in one word, UNIQUE!
Maybe one day we will meet on the Wallaby Track.
Norman McVicker's Budgee Budgee site 
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