{"id":54306,"date":"2026-07-20T07:29:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T07:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/54306\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T07:29:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T07:29:29","slug":"derryn-hinch-remembered-for-sense-of-justice-outspoken-and-likeable-personality-at-state-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/54306\/","title":{"rendered":"Derryn Hinch remembered for sense of justice, outspoken and likeable personality at state funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian broadcaster and former senator Derryn Hinch has been remembered as a prolific journalist with a kind heart.<\/p>\n

Hinch died aged 82 on July 10<\/a> after several years of declining health.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Derryn Hinch holds his official Senate portrait in July 2026. (Facebook: Derryn Hinch)<\/p>\n

At a state funeral service in Melbourne today his family, friends and colleagues from the entertainment and media realms remembered a rich life, lived to the full.<\/p>\n

A moving tribute from Hinch’s brother, Desmond “Des” Hinch, read by broadcaster and announcer Craig Willis, invited attendees to remember the man once nicknamed the “human headline” as a “pesky little brother”.<\/p>\n

Des recalled that in their youth the brothers separated their bedroom with a line and that Derryn’s side was always a “chaotic jumble” of his possessions.<\/p>\n

Prized among them was a kaleidoscope.<\/p>\n

Derryn Hinch dies aged 82<\/a><\/p>\n

Hinch was known for his distinctive broadcast style, his time in the Senate, and his law-breaking crusades to expose sex offenders that earned him several stints in jail.<\/p>\n

Des then asked everyone at the service to think of “at least one special memory you will keep of my brother”.<\/p>\n

“It could be something he said, something he did, something he wrote. It could be a book, an interview or a recipe.<\/p>\n

“If we could all gather those memories together they would fill that bedroom from our youth.<\/p>\n

“You could look at them through a kaleidoscope, and with each twist of the tube you as the observer would see the colourful, constantly changing multifaceted mosaic that was his life.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Pallbearers carry Derryn Hinch’s casket from his state funeral in Port Melbourne. (AAP: Christopher Hopkins)<\/p>\n

His former wife, Australian actress Jacki Weaver, was among those to deliver eulogies.<\/p>\n

Hinch was famously married five times, and at the end of his life had reunited with former partner Lynda Stoner.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Lynda Stoner is consoled at the state funeral for her partner, Derryn Hinch.\u00a0 (AAP: Christopher Hopkins)<\/p>\n

Weaver could not attend the state funeral in person, so her eulogy was played as a video.<\/p>\n

She began by describing herself as “Derryn’s third wife and close friend for almost half a century”.<\/p>\n

She paid tribute “sincerely and warmly” to all the women Hinch had loved.<\/p>\n

“I won’t mention you individually. We don’t have the time,” she said.<\/p>\n

“And in the immortal words of Steven Spielberg, ‘We’re going to need a bigger boat.'”<\/p>\n

Weaver thanked Hinch for being a good stepfather to her son, Dylan Walters, and read a tribute he had written.<\/p>\n

“You taught me the importance of honesty, integrity and standing up for what you believe in,” he said through his mother.<\/p>\n

“You were intelligent, passionate, cheerful and loving as well as obstinate, grumpy, impossible and frustrating, with a self-destructive streak which mystified your nearest and dearest as to where it came from, and we loved you for all of it.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jacki Weaver delivered a tribute via video at Derryn Hinch’s funeral. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

Weaver became emotional when ending her own tribute, saying she had loved Hinch “from the very start to the very end”.<\/p>\n

She became tearful as she wished him a “good night, sweet dreams”.<\/p>\n

Look back at our live coverage of the state funeral service for Derryn Hinch<\/a> to read more tributes to the legendary broadcaster.<\/p>\n

Colleagues remember a loud voice for justice who was always likeable<\/p>\n

Starting his career in newspapers in New Zealand, Hinch later moved to Australia, working at numerous newspapers and radio stations.<\/p>\n

The service heard that while a foreign correspondent, he met Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Princess Diana, the Dalai Lama four times, Bob Hope, Sofia Loren, Walter Cronkite, John Wayne and Bette Midler.<\/p>\n

He covered Martin Luther King’s funeral and was present when US senator Robert F Kennedy was assassinated.<\/p>\n

The larger-than-life media figure often told people he was sacked from “16 or 17” of his high-profile jobs.<\/p>\n

But today, his former colleagues only had fond memories and anecdotes to share.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ray Martin was among those to deliver a eulogy at Derryn Hinch’s funeral. (The Age: Eddie Jim)<\/p>\n

Veteran journalist Ray Martin, who worked as a foreign correspondent for the ABC in New York at the same time Hinch worked in the US city for Fairfax, prompted mourners to give Hinch a standing ovation.<\/p>\n

Martin said there was nothing subtle about Hinch or his “endless” opinions.<\/p>\n

“He was born with a megaphone for a voice. His typewriter was just about as loud,” Martin said.<\/p>\n

“He was brave and brash with an ego that could light up a small city.”<\/p>\n

He said Hinch was also very likeable, and had written multiple books.<\/p>\n

“Two of them were about Scrabble because he loved words,” Martin said.<\/p>\n

“Six were about himself \u2026 because he quite liked himself as well,” he laughed.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Derryn Hinch was a former chair and ambassador of the children’s charity, Variety. (Facebook: Variety)<\/p>\n

A common theme was Hinch’s strong sense of justice. The broadcaster became infamous throughout his career for flouting contempt of court laws regarding sex offenders.<\/p>\n

He was convicted three times and even jailed.<\/p>\n

Victorian MP Danny Pearson, representing the premier, recalled how Hinch used his position to give a voice to the voiceless.<\/p>\n

He said Hinch’s determination to stand up for others took him to the Senate, where he advocated for and achieved “real change” for the victims and survivors of abuse.<\/p>\n

“He proved once again, a single voice can make a difference.”<\/p>\n

Tony Tardio, the longtime newsreader at radio station 3AW where Hinch worked, said there would “never be another one like” Derryn Hinch.<\/p>\n

“He interviewed the famous, locked horns with the powerful, romanced the most beautiful women, wrote millions of words, became a radio star, a television star,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Took on big and sometimes unpopular causes, went to jail, was put under home detention, founded a political party, sat in the Australian Senate.<\/p>\n

“Drank too much, was within weeks of death [then] got someone else’s liver, got an extra 16 years of precious life, and had a bloody good time doing it all,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Former 3AW newsreader Tony Tardio spoke of Derryn Hinch’s achievements and foibles. (The Age: Eddie Jim)<\/p>\n

The service featured musical performances from Rhonda Burchmore who sang They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Bob Valentine sang That’s Life, and Nikki Nicholls performed one of Hinch’s favourite songs, You Are So Beautiful.<\/p>\n

Hinch’s goddaughter Ellie O’Connell also performed the national anthem at the start of the service, returning to sing an original song for her godfather near its conclusion.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ellie O’Connell performs a song written for the broadcaster. (The Age: Eddie Jim)<\/p>\n

Director of the Austin Hospital’s live transplant unit, Bob Jones, told those gathered at the service of his team’s trepidation when they heard they would be treating Derryn Hinch.<\/p>\n

But, Professor Jones said he was a model patient and “a delight to look after”.<\/p>\n

He said a liver transplant was highly risky and very few were lucky to have a chance for a cure with a liver transplant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“A few hours after his 12-hour operation, I went to the ICU to see how he was going and expected to find him unconscious on life-support systems,” Professor Jones said.<\/p>\n

“He was propped up in bed, surrounded by flashing lights, monitors, intravenous lines, tubes, nurses and his iPad was open and he was communicating on social media with the world.<\/p>\n

“I suggested to the groggy patient, loaded with post-op narcotics, that it was not a great time to be texting. He replied that he was pretty unlikely to get into more trouble than that he was already in.”<\/p>\n

Professor Jones said Hinch’s liver transplant had given him an extra 15 productive years.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Annette Philpott (centre) was a long-term assistant and close friend of Derryn Hinch.\u00a0 (AAP: Christopher Hopkins)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australian broadcaster and former senator Derryn Hinch has been remembered as a prolific journalist with a kind heart.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54307,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,35231,26113,3833],"class_list":["post-54306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-derryn-hinch","tag-funeral","tag-state-funeral"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}