Community gathers to remember Ross Leslie Smith (1941–2016)

 

Michael Shreenan from The Factory anchored the morning, which was
opened with an Acknowledgement of Country by Auntie Millie Ingram and
closed by the Rev. Dorothy McRae-McMahon on behalf of The South Sydney Herald and South Sydney Uniting Church.

Images of Ross were on display around the room and during a tribute
at the beginning of the memorial. A video by Clare Lewis of a recent Tour of Beauty
showed Ross talking about his favourite subject – the Waterloo Estate
and public housing. Those gathered heard Ross in his own words as Simon
Shabshay, a fellow Neighbourhood Advisory Board (NAB) representative,
read Ross’s contribution to the 2012 RedWater montage Volunteers… the Heart of our Community

“When you live in an area, you get to know people and you get
involved in the area. I’ve associated with different organisations over
that period… and you sort of get kidnapped! You become involved in the
direction of them, the policies, where they’re going and what they
attempt to do …

What do I get out of it? It’s a community; it’s a family; you’re part
of a structure. Call it what you like, you’re part of the area that you
live in. When people ask why I become involved in community work like
this, I tell them that it’s because I’d like to think that one day
someone would help me. And why be scared? It’s a community – if you have
any concern for the people around you, if you’d like to have friends,
be able to nod to people as you go down the street and say hello to them
… it’s only a small extension from that to ask them how they’re feeling
today and having a brief conversation with them. It’s about being
friendly; talking to people and relating to people. In the inner city in
particular, it can be a very lonely place if you don’t want to talk to
people.

So don’t be scared – it can’t bite you!

Volunteering is your choice, as far as what you get involved in, and the degree to which you become involved.”

Geoff Turnbull on behalf of REDWatch dedicated the song “Across the Western Suburbs” to Ross.

Speakers including close friends Jose Perez, Dianna Whitworth and
Rozita Dei Leoni covered the range of Ross’s involvements. The speakers
were either involved locally with Ross or in his activities regionally
or at a state level representing tenants.

Brett Louat and Michael Modder from Housing NSW, an agency of the NSW
Department of Family and Community Services, spoke on behalf of the
large number of bureaucrats Ross had dealt with over the years, many of
whom were present. Tanya Plibersek spoke because Ross was a very active
member of the Labor Party, involved on many ALP committees at various
levels of government.

Finally, Bill Yan from South Sydney Community Aid (SSCA) and
Katherine Johnston from the Kings Cross Community Centre spoke
representing community organisations. Over the last 30-40 years Ross was
on boards of management at SSCA, the Factory Community Centre, the
Central Sydney Region Public Tenants Council, Waterloo NAB, Social
Housing Tenant Advisory Committee and other organisations.

A life spent in service to the community – Garry Mallard

The public housing sector mourns the loss of one of its most
colourful characters, long-time Waterloo resident, advocate and
activist.

Ross passed away unexpectedly while on Waterloo Green in the heart of
the community he loved so much. He had been running one of the many
regular errands his community depended upon and appears to have passed
away relatively peacefully.

He was relentless in his pursuit of fair treatment for social housing
tenants and worked tirelessly to give meaning to often cynical Tenant
Participation processes. Ross’s capacity to analyse and assess the risk
of policies on the run and in every detail was formidable. His powers of
recall and his intimate knowledge of social housing history were
matched by few.

Sometimes abrasive and often misjudged, Ross’s commitment to his
community was completely selfless and his many acts of compassion in
support of the elderly and disadvantaged have been too long overlooked
by those who saw only the fierce and uncompromising advocate. Few have
given more time and effort to the affordable housing sector and with
such passion as Ross and his death is an incalculable loss to grass
roots activism.

Ross will be missed by community members, friends, colleagues and
adversaries alike, who will draw some solace from the certain knowledge
that any issues the residents of the afterlife may be experiencing right
now will be well and truly sorted by the time we arrive.

Plenus annis abiit, plenus honoribus
(He is gone from us, full of years and full of honours)

Source: South Sydney Heald December 2016 – http://www.southsydneyherald.com.au/community-gathers-to-remember-ross-leslie-smith-1941-2016