Jo Tulett’s Tribute to Max

For quite a long time, Murray and I used to do the printing and distribution of the Meccano newsletter. Max would format it and get it ready on a USB stick. As I worked at St Ives I would arrange to meet Max at Bunnings Belrose in the carpark and get the USB from him. I had known Max through MMA but meeting up with him at Bunnings became a time for much banter, and we became good friends. Later on when it was said there were many people who had clandestine encounters apparently in Bunnings carparks, Max commented they must had got the idea from us!

Murray and I helped pack up and pass on to charity some of his goods from his Warriewood home. On our visits to Max at Warriewood and when he went into care, we always took a picnic, including coffee and home baked fruit cake for Max, which he really enjoyed. During lockdown we kept in touch by phone, and I sent some cards to him. Always nice to receive something in the mail.

Max would sometimes ring us for a chat, and he would always talk to both Murray and me. I loved the enthusiasm Max had for Meccano and life in general, his sense of fun, and his optimism. Even when he was ill with Parkinson’s disease, he didn’t let it get him down. Murray and I will both miss Max.

Just before Max died, I wrote to him, but I am not sure if he was able to read my letter. I chose a card with ‘Joy’ on the front, and wrote to him that it was an appropriate card because Max brought much joy to many people. Max visited preschools, schools, community events and aged care facilities to show people Meccano. He also did a lot of tapdancing and entertainment for aged care facilities. He was very involved in Scouts for some time. Max had a great sense of giving to the community. He also brought so much joy to many people by founding the Meccano Modellers Association. Many people have gained so much from the Association. It is wonderful to have incentive to build models and ‘show and tell’ them at meetings. It is also a forum for the exchange of ideas, and probably most importantly it is a place where friendships are made. It was a wonderful idea for Max and others to establish the Meccano Modellers Association.

What a great contributor to community Max was. Let’s hope Meccano modelling will live on and be Max’s legacy.

Murray Tulett’s Tribute to Max

I knew Max since joining the Meccano Modellers Association in 1994. It was not until the mid-2000s, when my wife Jo and I took up the job of helping Max with the Association Newsletter, that I began to understand how much work Max did behind the scenes. He not only took notes at meetings, he also wrote, produced, printed and distributed the Newsletter. In addition, Max had been the Association’s long-time treasurer and secretary. Through working closely with Max over a number of years, I came to appreciate his highly organised ways and consistently cheerful manner. We shared many a joke. Although a committed Meccano Man, Max had many other interests, reflecting his inquiring, open mind. He read broadly, including works on science, history, and the philosophy of religion. One particular interest we had together was bicycle racing. Max had been a keen competitor in his younger years, and had also cycled great distances in New South Wales.

Max was an unusual man in some respects. He seemed to be without ego, or to put it another way, ego-free. Always modest, he took quiet pleasure in discovering things about the world, trying many of them for himself, organising information on many subjects and, most of all, in his friendship with others.