TOUR guide Matthew Leonard was a Victorian firefighter who had tried his hand at acting, had recently travelled to Cambodia to help train its firefighters and who, according to colleagues, "really, really enjoyed life".
Leonard, 28, had been a firefighter for two years and had become part of a group of firefighters and paramedics working as tour guides for No Roads Expeditions, established by Victorian firefighter Peter Miller.
Originally from Perth and the son of a police inspector, Leonard was one of four children. He went to Sacred Heart College and then the WA Academy of Performing Arts, where he graduated with an arts degree in music theatre in 2003. He was remembered there yesterday as an excellent dancer and performer.
He headed for Sydney to try his hand at acting, but then moved to Melbourne to become a fireman.
Photographs on his MySpace site show him in acting poses, with fellow firemen and working on the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb.
The Aussie Theatre website said Leonard had appeared in a number of productions "but his sense of adventure took over and he left the industry to follow a career as a firefighter".
Steve Davey, his station officer in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Malvern, yesterday described Leonard as the type of a bloke that any father "would be more than proud to have as a son".
Asked whether he was an adventurer, Davey replied: "He was out there a little bit. He really, really enjoyed life."
Fellow firefighter Warren Rickard described him as "a great guy and as fit as a fiddle", while fellow No Roads guide and firefighter Barry Gray said: "People throw around expressions like one of the nicest guys you would ever meet, but it just happened to be true on this occasion."
Mr Leonard's father, Bill, as well as being an inspector with the West Australian police force, is a chairman of Legacy and the Police Families Advisory Council.
Leonard, 28, had been a firefighter for two years and had become part of a group of firefighters and paramedics working as tour guides for No Roads Expeditions, established by Victorian firefighter Peter Miller.
Originally from Perth and the son of a police inspector, Leonard was one of four children. He went to Sacred Heart College and then the WA Academy of Performing Arts, where he graduated with an arts degree in music theatre in 2003. He was remembered there yesterday as an excellent dancer and performer.
He headed for Sydney to try his hand at acting, but then moved to Melbourne to become a fireman.
Photographs on his MySpace site show him in acting poses, with fellow firemen and working on the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb.
The Aussie Theatre website said Leonard had appeared in a number of productions "but his sense of adventure took over and he left the industry to follow a career as a firefighter".
Steve Davey, his station officer in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Malvern, yesterday described Leonard as the type of a bloke that any father "would be more than proud to have as a son".
Asked whether he was an adventurer, Davey replied: "He was out there a little bit. He really, really enjoyed life."
Fellow firefighter Warren Rickard described him as "a great guy and as fit as a fiddle", while fellow No Roads guide and firefighter Barry Gray said: "People throw around expressions like one of the nicest guys you would ever meet, but it just happened to be true on this occasion."
Mr Leonard's father, Bill, as well as being an inspector with the West Australian police force, is a chairman of Legacy and the Police Families Advisory Council.
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