Hundreds of mourners have turned out to farewell beloved former Blacktown City Mayor, Tony Bleasdale OAM.
The popular alderman, who had served as the city’s Mayor for the past five years, was remembered as a respected and well-liked councillor and community figure.
Mr Bleasdale, died aged 77 while on a flight home to Australia on 3 May following a visit to China.
He was farewelled today at Our Lady of Victories church at Horsley Park. Attendees included NSW Premier, Chris Minns and Deputy Premier and Minister for Western Sydney, Prue Car, local politicians, NSW Police and NSW SES volunteers, and union representatives.
Blacktown Deputy Mayor, Chris Quilkey told those gathered that Mr Bleasdale had been “a strong voice for Western Sydney”.
Mr Bleasdale served as a councillor in Blacktown after being first elected in 1996. In 2010 he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his contribution to the community.
At today’s service, his son, Nick Bleasdale, described his dad as “a dedicated and adored grandfather” and “exceptional father”, saying his father’s role with Blacktown Council was “his calling”.
“Local government (was) the heart and soul of the community,” he said.
“If you were doing it tough, he would fight for you.
“We are grateful that we had him in our lives for as long as we did,” Nick said.
The funeral service was live-streamed by Blacktown City Council, with the organisation forced to issue a warning to the public regarding fake Facebook links to the service.
“Council has been made aware of several fraudulent Facebook accounts that are posting links purporting to be links to the livestream of the funeral service for Tony Bleasdale OAM. Do not accept friend requests from these accounts, nor click on these links,” the Council warned on its Facebook page.
The only official link to view the funeral service is at: https://www.FuneralVideo.com.au/TonyBleasdale.
