Martin Lindsay Gawler 14 August, 1924 – 12 December, 2023

Alice Pung

Dear Uncle Martin's family, Your father, grandfather and great grandfather, and your beautiful late mother and grandmother were true lights in our lives, and they instilled in me the love of reading and books, from Haffertee Hamster to my first Bible, and even a book about the African American surgeon Ben Carson! I learned so much about the world from those well-loved books, every single one which I kept and now share with my own three children; as those stories always had a moral compass and were replete with love. Most of all, we felt so loved and cherished by Uncle Martin and Aunty Stella. What a gift they were in our lives, absolute life changing. Refugees are generally 'invisible' in society (unless we are up to mischief!) but we felt truly seen for who we were and what we were capable of. He always thought the best of us. He taught us to care for the vulnerable. Uncle Martin lived as close to God as possible, and left a lasting legacy of absolute love and kindness. He will forever and ever be part of me, because he has helped shape part of my heart.