Sadly one of the founding members of the Wildcats is no longer with us, Bruce “Rowdy” Stewart was unable to continue his battle against the injuries he sustained in an accident on the way home from the Witch Rally in February.

Such was the gregarious nature of the bloke that he created a lasting impression in the mind of all who met him, with an ever present ear to ear grin and a cigarette in the corner of the mouth, Rowdy had the ability to sort of fill the room when he arrived, and it was not all due to his shall we say, portly frame, although, that probably helped a little bit.

Very few things were too much for Rowdy when he took the bit between his teeth and he seemed to revel in getting things done on the shortest notice, he wasn’t one for political correctness and going by the rulebook and as a result there are a lot of organizations and people in and around Walgett that have received the benefit of his efforts when they most needed something.

Not one to be left out of something, I’m sure Rowdy even had a hand in providing the weather for the day of his funeral, because, for the most part it was bucketing down with rain, and knowing Rowdy, I reckon he would have been looking down on us and laughing his arse off seeing as he was the only one that was dry.

There’s absolutely no doubt his passing has left a large hole in the Australian biker fraternity, and he will be sorely missed by a huge amount of people.

I am proud to say that he was a mate of mine and a damn good Wildcat, RIP Rowdy.