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Bill Beadman (ACT) - Extract from his Obituary
ACT High Break record holder - 270
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Beadman, William James (Bill) (1918–2001)In November 1964 William James (Bill) Beadman was an unknown Canberra bus driver going about his normal duties. But before that day was out, courage and coincidence had catapulted him into national prominence.
That morning, Beadman, then 46 and the father of three children, was driving his bus over King’s Avenue Bridge when he saw two men and a boy struggling beside an overturned boat in Lake Burley Griffin, near the carillon. Beadman, who held a Surf Life Saving Bronze Medal, stopped his bus, pulled off his clothes and swam out in the lake. The boy, Colin Panton, and his father sank from sight in the choppy, windswept water before Beadman could reach them. He then swam towards the other man, Bruce Shields, who was clinging to an overturned racing shell. Using the shell, Beadman was able to get it and Shields ashore. However, the incident also had an unsavoury side. While Beadman was in the water his watch was stolen from his clothes.
Six months later, on the morning of the day the then acting Prime Minister, John McEwen, announced that Beadman had been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for gallantry in the lake rescue, the bus driver hero rescued the same man again. Beadman was again driving his bus when he saw a collision between two cars. Noticing a man get slewed around and finish up hanging out of one of the cars, Beadman stopped his bus and ran to help him. It was Bruce Shields, the very man he had dragged out of the lake the year before. Beadman later recalled that after he got Shields by the shoulders and pulled him out, he looked up and said, ‘My God, my guardian angel’.
But gallantry was not Bill Beadman’s only claim to fame. Prowess with a billiard cue, led to him being inducted in 1999 into the ACT Sports Hall of Fame, for the remarkable achievement of winning 25 consecutive ACT billiards championships. He won his first ACT title in 1948 and went on to win another 32 titles. His final title before retiring because of ill health was in 1981. His achievements with the cue also included victories over Horace Lindrum and Eddie Charlton. When Bill had just beaten Lindrum and they were having a beer together, Lindrum said, ‘I have played all around the world and then come back to the bush to get beaten’. Not one to let Canberra be put down, Bill is said to have retorted, ‘Well, you’re not in the bush, you’re in the national capital’.
That morning, Beadman, then 46 and the father of three children, was driving his bus over King’s Avenue Bridge when he saw two men and a boy struggling beside an overturned boat in Lake Burley Griffin, near the carillon. Beadman, who held a Surf Life Saving Bronze Medal, stopped his bus, pulled off his clothes and swam out in the lake. The boy, Colin Panton, and his father sank from sight in the choppy, windswept water before Beadman could reach them. He then swam towards the other man, Bruce Shields, who was clinging to an overturned racing shell. Using the shell, Beadman was able to get it and Shields ashore. However, the incident also had an unsavoury side. While Beadman was in the water his watch was stolen from his clothes.
Six months later, on the morning of the day the then acting Prime Minister, John McEwen, announced that Beadman had been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for gallantry in the lake rescue, the bus driver hero rescued the same man again. Beadman was again driving his bus when he saw a collision between two cars. Noticing a man get slewed around and finish up hanging out of one of the cars, Beadman stopped his bus and ran to help him. It was Bruce Shields, the very man he had dragged out of the lake the year before. Beadman later recalled that after he got Shields by the shoulders and pulled him out, he looked up and said, ‘My God, my guardian angel’.
But gallantry was not Bill Beadman’s only claim to fame. Prowess with a billiard cue, led to him being inducted in 1999 into the ACT Sports Hall of Fame, for the remarkable achievement of winning 25 consecutive ACT billiards championships. He won his first ACT title in 1948 and went on to win another 32 titles. His final title before retiring because of ill health was in 1981. His achievements with the cue also included victories over Horace Lindrum and Eddie Charlton. When Bill had just beaten Lindrum and they were having a beer together, Lindrum said, ‘I have played all around the world and then come back to the bush to get beaten’. Not one to let Canberra be put down, Bill is said to have retorted, ‘Well, you’re not in the bush, you’re in the national capital’.
