Thanksgiving service for Bali victim

25-November-2002

Family and friends of Bali victim, Scott Lysaght, will gather together to give thanks for his life at a service to be held at the University of Wollongong on Saturday 23 November.

Scott, aged 33, was killed in Bali at the scene of the terrorist bombing in October. Four of his team mates died with him and a fifth member of the team died in a Singapore hospital 20 days later. They were all members of the Komodos Rugby team of the International Sports Club of Indonesia.

The team was in Bali to compete in the Bali 10s competition. They had won their heats on the Saturday and were due to play in the finals the following day.

Together with his wife Melissa and 11-month-old daughter Madeleine, Scott was an expatriate, living in Jakarta while working for International SOS, a medical and security assistance company, providing medical and emergency services, health care, evacuation and repatriation services.

They had lived in Indonesia for the past year. Born in Wollongong, Scott attended Hurlstone Agricultural High School and later graduated as a Civil Engineer from the University of Wollongong. He initially worked in the coal mining industry in NSW and Queensland.

In 1995, he took up a post with ICI (now Orica) in Vietnam where he was involved in establishing a water purification project with the Vietnamese Government. Scott became fluent in Vietnamese and had a high regard for the Vietnamese people, and was a favourite among the children in the villages he visited.

While in Vietnam, he completed his MBA through the University of New England. Scott and his wife returned to Australia in 1999 where he worked with Michelin in Melbourne for two years. He took up his post in Jakarta in July 2001.

His sporting passion was Rugby which he had played since school days. He was known among Rugby clubs in Asia and Australia for his friendly and gregarious personality, quick wit, and regard for the well-being of others. He also had the reputation for being an energetic and enthusiastic organiser of Rugby and other sporting and social events throughout the region.

He coached Rugby to children in both Thailand and Indonesia. He firmly believed that sporting collaboration brought together people of all cultures in an atmosphere of friendship and co-operation.

Family members attending the thanksgiving service will include Scott's wife, Melissa, (a graduate of UOW); daughter, Madeleine; Scott's mother, Dr Pauline Lysaght (graduate of UOW and Sub Dean of the Faculty of Education); his father, Daniel; sister, Georgia (student at UOW); and sister, Philippa.

Media please note special family requests.

The family has requested that it does not want any member of the media inside the auditorium or foyer before, during or after the service. Externals of people arriving is okay.

The family wants to avoid at all costs camera lights, cameras and flashes disrupting people's private expressions of grief. They especially do not want any sensational, tear-jerking photos of grieving family or friends. They have also asked that no attempts be made to interview any member of the family or Melissa's family. Nobody has been authorised to speak on behalf of the family.

]The Media Unit has a photo of Scott and his daughter, Madeleine that can be sent as a scanned jpeg to media requesting the photo.

Thanksgiving venue: Theatre 107 in the McKinnon Bldg (Bldg 67). Time: 11am Saturday, 23 November.