Despite an illustrious, multi-faceted, award-winning career spanning nearly seven decades the greatest love of Bert Newton’s life was family – wife of 47 years, Patti, son Matthew, 44, daughter Lauren, 40, her husband, former Olympic swimming champ Matt Welsh, and their six children, son Sam, 12, daughters Eva, 10, and Lola, seven, son Monty, three, daughter Perla, two, and son Alby, born last year.
The last photo of Bert uploaded by Patti to Instagram a week before his death at 83 on October 30 was of the beaming granddad in his hospital bed surrounded by five of his grandchildren. Patti simply captioned it: “That’s what happiness is.”
Bert had a partial leg amputation on May 4 after a diabetes-linked toe infection steadily worsened. Doctors reportedly told him that if he kept the leg then he would have just months to live rather than years.
Patti said at the time her husband agreed to the surgery because “he has so much to live for. This is not a death sentence. He is lucky; he has family all around him. The grandkids mean the world to him.”
Unfortunately, he did only live another precious few months, Patti believing that a cumulation of anaesthetics and painkillers to ease his discomfort gradually causing Bert’s body to “shut down”. But throughout that time, he was surrounded by his family and lots of love.
Just before his amputation surgery, Patti uploaded to Instagram a photo of Bert with grandson Alby.
“Thank you everyone for your prayers and beautiful words,” Patti captioned it. “Think Alby has stolen Bert’s hairpiece.”
Bert’s media career began at the age of 12, in 1950, when he fell into casual work writing radio plays and reading commercials on radio 3XY in Melbourne.
As his career soared over ensuing years, he had many offers to work overseas but opted to stay in Australia because of family and friends.
Bert And Patti – A Love Story
Singer Patti McGrath first met Bert on a radio talent show when he was 12 — just a few years before he became Australia’s youngest professional broadcaster at 15.
“We didn’t take that much notice of each other when we first met as kids,” Patti told The Australian Women’s Weekly a month before their wedding in November, 1974, at St Dominic’s Church in Camberwell, Melbourne (Graham Kennedy was best man).
“But I recall all the little girls on the radio talent show being in love with Bert.”
Such was the fan frenzy at their wedding, police had to hold the crowd at bay.
As they grew older, Bert realised Patti was “the one” after she left Australia to perform overseas for 18 months.
He decided to fly to America in secret and book a ticket on luxury liner, the Queen Elizabeth II (QEII), where Patti was singing.
He sent her a note after her performance and they rushed to find each other.
“I came running to see him but I couldn’t find him, the ship was so big,” Patti once recalled. “Eventually we met on the deck. It was all very romantic as we ran towards each other. I kept saying: ‘I can’t believe you’re really here’.”
Bert proposed on Australia Day 1974 and the couple disembarked in New York to buy a ring.
Patti’s Instagram account was always full of posts reflecting her long-lasting devotion to “the love of my life”.
Celebrating their wedding anniversary in 2019, she wrote: “It’s been a wonderful life together, ups and downs and lots of laughs and happiness. Thank you for choosing me. Love you, Mack.”
Respected entertainment reporter and longtime Newton family friend, Peter Ford, said recently: “To be honest I don’t think there were that many people who truly knew him other than Patti.”
Of Ups And Downs
Since Bert’s death, Patti has strenuously denied there was still a rift with son Matthew, who moved to New York around a decade ago.
They stood by him during a troubled time, struggling with addiction and several allegations made against him of assaulting former girlfriends Brooke Satchwell and Rachael Taylor.
In a bid to try to help him they did a controversial interview with A Current Affair that led to alienation from their son for several years.
However, Patti has revealed that the family were all on good terms in the years leading up to Bert’s death and that Matthew was in regular phone and Face Time contact with his father.
It has been revealed that a heartfelt tribute from Matthew to his father will be read at the State funeral at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral this Friday.
