HE was dubbed "Darwin's saviour" for his work after Cyclone Tracy's devastation, but former Australian of the Year Alan Stretton was also an AFL footballer, war hero and lawyer.
Major General Alan Stretton died on Friday of a massive haemorrhage after a long illness.
He had been an achiever in anything he attempted, his son and prominent Canberra lawyer Greg Stretton, SC, recounted on Monday.
"He had a wonderfully full and active life and his mind was with him until the end, but unfortunately his physical health had begun to deteriorate badly," Mr Stretton said.
As well as a long career in the military, which saw him fight in World War II, the Korean War, Malaysia and Vietnam, Maj Gen Stretton found time to play as a ruckman for the St Kilda AFL team where he had his jaw broken by Jack "Captain Blood" Dyer.
He was later selected to join the Victorian basketball team, though he never played in the squad.
During his long career in the military Maj Gen Stretton rose to prominence for heading the Natural Disaster Organisation when Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin in 1974.
He flew into Darwin on Christmas Day to find that the cyclone had destroyed more than 70 per cent of the city's buildings and killed scores of people.
For his efforts, Maj Gen Stretton was named Australian of the Year in 1975, when he said he wished there were 45,000 awards so one could be given to each person in Darwin.
"He will be remembered for Darwin, but also I think be remembered for his staunch opposition to the war in Afghanistan," Mr Stretton said.
During the lead-up to the Afghan war, Maj Gen Stretton addressed crowds in Melbourne and Sydney, warning that it could turn into a drawn-out conflict like Vietnam.
"One of his great gifts was that he hated bulls**t and politicians that mouthed it," Mr Stretton said of his father.
Maj Gen Stretton also practised law in Canberra for about 20 years, specialising in conveyancing and commercial law.
While he drew admirers, there were also critics of Maj Gen Stretton's role in Darwin during the Cyclone Tracy rebuild.
Local historian Peter Forrest said Maj Gen Stretton's role was overstated and promoted by the federal government of the time to cover up its inadequacies in dealing with other natural disasters earlier in the year.
"I think it is wrong to portray him as Darwin's saviour and certainly wrong to portray him as the man who reconstructed Darwin," Mr Forrest said.
"Among those who were here and very much involved in the counter-disaster effort I think there would be a very different view about Stretton than might be held in the wider Australian community," he said.
Maj Gen Stretton is survived by two daughters, Virginia Stretton and April Johnston, and a son, Greg Stretton.
Although details of his funeral are yet to be finalised, it is expected he will be farewelled with full military honours at the Duntroon Military College in Canberra on Friday.
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