The curious story of the Bundy bush hermit who met a king

THE headlines read “bush hermit’s lifelong adventure over at 78”. But there was much more to Paddy Powell’s story.

A photo of Paddy Powell taken by the NewsMail in the '90s.

THE headlines read "bush hermit's lifelong adventure over at 78".

Baden Lindsay 'Paddy' Powell was quite the personality in Bundaberg.

His story read like a fantastic tale, recounted in a 1994 edition of the NewsMail.

The bearded bushman lived in a shanty made of tin and no bigger than an average bedroom.

He had family in Bundaberg, but never married and chose a life alone in Goodnight Scrub and just the occasional trip into Gin Gin for supplies.

He was content with his copies of Readers Digest and Time magazine,

Mr Powell had been a member of the 2nd/25th Battalion and served in the Middle East and Papua New Guinea.

He later worked as a timber cutter and carrier.

In an earlier piece with the NewsMail, Mr Powell said if he was younger he wouldn't have been living where he was.

"I may be living in a hovel now, but you're talking to a man who has shaken hands with a king of England and viceroy of India".

According to journalist David Potter, it was as a schoolchild in the 1920s that Mr Powell caught the hand of the Prince of Wales, later to become king, and as a soldier that he shook hands with Earl Mountbatten who was visiting troops in the Middle East.

Mr Powell's fantastic adventures came to a tragic end when his shack caught fire, possibly starting from an old iron stove or open fireplace.

He was found sheltering in his old Valiant sedan, but couldn't survive the burns he suffered.

Former army friends paid tribute to Mr Powell.

Victorian RSL chairman Bruce Ruxton, also a member of the 2nd/25th battalion, was heartbroken by the former soldier's death.

His niece Shirley Dunn said he was "certainly a character".

"He was still cheery, still had his wry sense of humour, when visited by his army buddies in Brisbane.

"He will be missed."

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