Mike Leyland dies

Just seen it on the news, they certainly gave me inspiration to travel this country.
I thought their early adventures were good.

Rob.

Ill Drink to that R.I.P

Sad news indeed, my condolences to the Leyland family.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/14/2685521.htm

That takes the gloss of the old "There the bleep are we Mal?" joke.

Does anyone know how old he was?
I remember watching the Leylands as a kid.

G/Day Handy, " He was a inspiration to a lot of people in his day"


True!!, But i'll add He was a pioneer to all of us whimps! that are following the tracks that he travelled in a much more uncivilised way many years ago.

Good onya Mike Leyland !.




Cheers Axle.

It makes my copies of Where Dead Men Lie, Great Ugly River and Wheels Across a Wilderness even more valuable to me. (Not in a $$$$ sense either)

RIP Mike....A true Aussie Pioneer, great entertainer and an all round top bloke.

I had the pleasure of contracting for Mal and Mike in the early 90's when they were building their ill-fated Ayers Rock Resort just north of Karuah, on the Pacific Highway. They had a wonderful vision for it, but in the end I think costs blew out, and the bank closed on them before it realised their dreamed of potential. It still stands today as a roadhouse, but their dream was never brought to fruition. They poured every cent they had into that place, and their aim was to educate all Australians with the knowledge they had gained from all their adventures, and badly wanted to share it.
Only recently watched their re-enactment of their west to east crossing from the 60's, and Mike's affliction was showing through in that. Terrible bloody disease. I am so glad to have known both Mike and Mal, and they had an unbelievable passion about this great country of ours.
We all have a passion for it as well, but I don't know if it will ever match theirs.

Vale Mike Leyland, RIP.

Condolences to to the family.

I think Mike was 68.

He and his brother had me absolutely glued to the TV when I was a kid. And they certainly inspired me to do the outdoors thing. I've even owned a Kombi or 2!

I met Mike personally a few years ago at the 50th anniversary of the VW Kombi at Penrith Panthers, where he gave a speech about the time they used Kombis on their travels. What a great bloke! We chatted for a while, talking about many things including the Naked Vicar Show's p*sstake of "I'm Mike, and I'm Mal, and this is Greg the Kombi Van" way back in the 70's....

He reckoned that skit gave them so much free advertising....

Mike signed a memento for my daughter, which she has kept in her treasured possessions.

Thanks for everything, Mike!

Where dya think we are now Mal?

I know where you are Mike, in the big Landrover repairer in the sky, where Locas electrics run all day every day and Landrovers get home at the same time as their owners.

Vale Mike Leyland, you formed my early years love of Australia and adventure.

That's sad, the Leyland Brothers where an inspiration to a generation of Australians.

The brothers attended many years before me the same Newcastle High School. They where regular visitors over the years at various school events. What they had to say and show never failed to captivate me as a youngster. (we almost always got to see their latest documentary before the rest of Australia, especially in their early years)

As to that bloody Parkinsons Disease, insidious rotten thing it is. My father died of it 15 years ago at age 64.

If Mike had that rotten disease like Dad then mate, you are travelling in a better place tonight. Your family will miss you but deep down they'll know you finally have some relief from it.

Geoff

We never missed any of their shows if we could help it, our 2 sons used to watch them when they were kids, now they are in their late thirties, I hope they do reruns to honour him and his family, another good Aussie passes on.

Cheers

What great stuff they put on the TV. I couldn't be moved from the TV watching their adventures. Inspired by Vince Serenty I would suggest.

Two, fair dinkhum, deadpan blokes just giving us information, without the bullchit hype.

Now people sit and watch claptrap like "Dancing with the Knobs".

Any wonder I don't watch the box anymore.

A sad loss.

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I fondly remember them growing up, ripper of a show and take the family too! but what was the go with the F100?? anyway that Parkinsons is a Bastard disease, my FIL has it and getting worse by the day.The Meds make one or the other things about it worse,such an active bloke once upon a time but now only sits in his recliner,RIP Mike.

I would have to join the league of young Aussies captivated & inspired by their early work.

Them and others like them...

Alby Mangles even.

Harry Butler OBE

Malcolm Douglas - across the top - 1967 was, I think, another classic that seems to come to mind of similar genre and vintage.

Australia's not quite the same, each time we lose one of our national characters and the Leyland boys, I think qualify in that category.

Life is a constant struggle, to die of natural causes. Birth itself, is a death sentence.

I reckon that Mike would have seen enough of the balance of nature at work in his Australian travels, to accept his allotted span.

There's no good way to die - but a good man can choose to die well.

His legacy will keep his memory alive for a long time, with many of our generation.

Cheers

Also watched there shows as a kid as my father ALWAYS loved it --- Now my question - they visited a beach once and for the life of me i can not remember where it is

Its a beach that has a large rocky outcrop , and those rocks are so hard that when you throw one rock onto another they skip around like superballs on concrete - i had been there myself as a kid - does anyone know where it is ?

Boc

Rest in peace Mike.
I remember watching the Leyland brothers tv show many years ago