Songs for a larrikin and a gentleman

James Packer pays tribute to his father. Picture / Reuters

Kerry Packer was "a larrikin but also a gentleman and that's a dual description any Australian man would be proud to have", Prime Minister John Howard told the billionaire's state memorial service yesterday.

Howard told the 2000 mourners filling the Sydney Opera House that Packer loved his country and understood ordinary Australians.

Some of the biggest stars and richest people in the world, including Hollywood couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe, former Australian cricket captain Richie Benaud and media heir Lachlan Murdoch, gathered to honour the flamboyant billionaire.

Packer, who was Australia's richest man, died on December 26 aged 68 after years of heart and kidney problems. He built a television and magazine business he inherited from his father into a multi-billion-dollar fortune.

"When we saw each other on a regular basis it was always to talk about Australia, to talk about ways in which you [Packer] could make it better," Howard said.

"The key to his life and to his great success and the key to the enormous impact he had on the Australian community was his understanding about what made the ordinary bloke tick."

Howard's tribute followed the singing of the national anthem and an opening address from one of Packer's closest friends, Sydney radio broadcaster and former Wallabies coach Alan Jones, who was the master of ceremonies.

Cricket great and Nine Network commentator Richie Benaud said Packer was an inspiration.

"He would have been keen about the crowd here today - a packed house," Benaud said. "Kerry was a great character, a really great character, so my life would have been less interesting without having known him all those years."

After Benaud's address, as pictures of Packer were flashed on two screens on either side of the stage, the auditorium broke into song in a rousing rendition of the cricket anthem Come On Aussie, Come On.

Howard and Crowe were among those in attendance who joined the singing while Cruise merely clapped and grinned.

"KP would have loved that," Jones said afterwards.

Packer's only son, James, who has taken control of his father's $11 billion media and gaming company Publishing & Broadcasting, took the podium after one of Packer's favourite songs, Frank Sinatra's My Way, which accompanied a video montage of moments from his life.

James Packer told the gathering his father was a born leader who radiated strength.

His family were grateful for and comforted by the "outpouring of respect and affection" since his father's death.

Packer said his father was a great believer in loyalty.

"He never forgot a favour," he said.

"In life, you looked after one another ... you watch out for those who watch out for you." Kerry Packer believed that a man's word was his bond.

Packer said: "He could be a tough operator and a hard negotiator but he never compromised his integrity.

"His judgment never let him down, that is the key, I believe, to his great success."

Packer was constantly amazed by his father's ability to connect with people from all walks of life, with whom he'd "felt an invisible partnership".

That was why he was driven to incredible acts of generosity.

"He used to say to me you have to be able to live with yourself," Packer said.

"He could be flint hard, but he could also be soft."

Packer said the darkest chapter in his father's life was during the so-called Costigan affair, when the findings of the Costigan Royal Commission linked him to organised crime in the 1980s.

His father was constantly curious about the world around him. "He was acutely aware of his own good fortune and equally aware of the obligations that went with it," Packer said.

Many of the people attending were lucky to have personal memories of the man.

"My most precious memories are, of course, not about the legend, but about my dad, I have a million small memories that will sustain me through my life. Dad was my mentor and my teacher but, above all, he was my father and that was my greatest fortune."

Crowe read Rudyard Kipling's poem If on behalf of Kerry Packer's daughter, Gretel.

It was followed by the singing of Waltzing Matilda.

Jones ended the memorial with a cricket analogy which he said Packer would have found appropriate.

"The innings were too short, but there were a lot of runs," he said.

Mourners then filed out of the auditorium to the strains of another of Packer's favourite songs, Kenny Rogers' The Gambler.


Business titan

* Kerry Packer was Australia's richest man with a personal fortune of A$5 billion.
* He died aged 68 on December 26 after years of heart and kidney problems.
* He built a TV and magazine business into a multi-billion-dollar company.