Three former Prime Ministers of Australia were among the 300 who attended the State Funeral of Kim Edward Beazley on 20 October 2007. In 1953 Beazley spent seven weeks at the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux, Switzerland – an experience which profoundly affected his life and political career.
Former Prime Ministers, Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, along with West Australian Premier Alan Carpenter and former Governer General Bill Hayden were among the dignitaries paying tribute to Kim Edward Beazley at his State Funeral on 20 October 2007. Beazley was descibed by his son, former Labor Party leader Kim Beazley Jnr, as 'a great parliamentarian from a great era' whose priorities were justice for and the advancement of Indigenous Australians.
Life long friend Jim Coulter gave a tribute which you can read here.
Obituaries in The Guardian and the Sydney Morning Herald made reference to his long connection with Moral Re-Armament (as Initiatives of Change was previously known) which goes back to 1953 when he spent seven weeks at the Initiatives of Change conference centre in Caux, Switzerland. A committed Christian, it was in Caux that he commenced what became a life-long habit of spending time in silence each morning to seek guidance from the Holy Spirit – an experience which profoundly affected his life and political career. These times of silent searching gave rise to his conviction to work for 'the rehabilitation of the Australian Aboriginal race'.
