By Sir Allan Terrett, KR

Rizal was truly an amazing man. Professor Blumentritt had said that a man of his stature only appears in the history of any nation, once every century. I don’t believe Australia has yet produced a man of his stature.

I will briefly review some of the areas in which he excelled, in his short life of only 35 and a half years.

He was:

    *      an anthropologist
    *      a botanist
    *      a businessman
    *      a cartographer
    *      a dramatist
    *      an economist
    *      an educator
    *      an engineer
    *      an essayist
    *     an entomologist,

While he was in Dapitan he used to send plant, animal and insects to Europe. (1) A rare frog which was named Rahpcophorus Rizali, (2)  A small beetle belonging to the species coleoptera, which was named Apogonia Rizali, and (3) A dragon fly which was named Draco Rizali.

He was a farmer

    *      a folklorist
    *      a geographer
    *      a grammarian
    *      a historian
    *      a horticulturist
    *      a humorist
    *      a lexicographer
    *      a linguist, He could speak with ease 22 languages, and in many was able to write letters and poetry.

He was

    *     a musician
    *     a novelist
    *    a painter
    *    a physician - including a specialist ophthalmologist
    *    a poet
    *    a philosopher
    *    a polemist
    *    a psychologist.

He was

    *    a satirist
    *    a sculptor
    *    a sportsman
    *    a sociologist
    *    a surveyor
    *    a traveller, and
    *    a zoologist;

but more than these a patriot, a hero and a martyr.

Some believe that Rizal is no longer relevant to the present day; because the circumstances and the tyranny of the times in which he lived have long since passed.

But I believe this is wrong. Rizal and his legacy are for all times, and all ages, and all classes of people.

I am a great believer that we should all have a hero in our lives, somebody to try to emulate; - and there is no better person to have as a hero, and to try to emulate, - than Rizal.

Rizal was a man who suffered

    *    hardship
    *    persecution
    *    poverty
    *   disillusionment
    *   sorrow.

We must remember that he was a man; made of flesh and bones just like us; - and though we may fall short of his example, we will be better for having been inspired by his example.

I believe that we who have children of Filipino background have an obligation to teach children about Rizal.

I believe that if we, and if we teach our children to try to emulate aspects of Rizal’s life, then this will raise ours; - and our children’s standards of:

    *   dedication to ideals
    *   dedication to study
    *   standards of morality, actions, behaviour, thinking, aims, and ethics
    *   respect for law, parents, other people, and country
    *   and to use our lives more productively.

I believe that the teachings of Rizal are very relevant today; he is a man for all times, and that if he becomes a role model for ourselves, and our children, then we, our community, and our country will be better for it.

*** Paper presented at “A Symposium on the Life and Works of Dr Jose P. Rizal” by the  Order of the Knights of Rizal, Sydney Chapter, on May 30, 1999 at the Bankstown RSL Club, Bankstown, NSW.

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