Vale Bill Berge Phillips Jnr

The NSW and Australian water polo communities are in mourning this week following the passing of former Bondi and Universities great Bill Berge-Phillips Jr., who passed away on the 26th July, 2022.

Bill grew up watching his father Bill Berge-Phillips Sr., play our great game with the Spit Club in Sydney, which later morphed into the talented University Penguins. Influenced by his father and a number of talented Europeans like Oscar Csuvic [Charles], Momi Vadas, Alex Kosegi and others, he began playing water polo at Dee Why under Capt Fred Lamb, father of NSW State Team player Warwick Lamb. He finished his schooling at Sydney Grammar School before enrolling as a student at the College of Law.

Along with teammates Peter Fox, John Harrison and Peter Ritchie, Bill was a member of the Australian Universities Swimming and Water Polo Team that toured New Zealand in 1963, under mentor and coach/manager Bill Ford. On the club scene, Bill had joined the talented Bondi club and helped them claim the runners-up mantle in the 1964 NSW 1st Grade grand final against Balmain (5~6).

Representing Bondi, Bill Berge-Phillips Jr. burst onto the Australian water polo scene with a bang in 1964, with his inaugural selection in both the NSW Water Polo Team for the nationals in Sydney, from which he was then selected in the Australian Water Polo Team, one of only a handful of players to have ever been selected in an Australian Olympic team on their debut appearance in an Australian Championships.

After transferring to the emerging Universities club in Sydney for the 1964/65 season, Bill followed up these honours with further selections in the NSW State Team for the Australian Championships in Hobart (1965), Brisbane (1966), Adelaide (1967) and Melbourne (1968), although this was during a period when the Victorians were dominant.

On the international stage, Bill was chosen in three more Australian teams at a time when opportunities were few and tours were rare. He gained selection in the 1965 Australian Water Polo Team for the tour through Europe, under coach/manager Nino Sydney. Then followed this up by being picked in the 1967 Australian Water Polo Team for their world tour, this time under coach Alex Kosegi. The next year saw his second Olympic team selection for the 1968 Mexico City Games, under coach/manager Oscar Csuvic. Unfortunately, the Olympic honours were stripped from Bill, and the entire team when the Australian and International Olympic Committees stubbornly refused to allow the Australian men to compete, threatening other nations with disqualification if they played the Aussies. This devastating event was a tragedy for both the players and for Australian water polo in general, as the 1968 Australian team was the most experienced Olympic team to date, having had two years of international touring beforehand.

On the Sydney club scene, Bill achieved the rare honour of helping his club team qualify for the NSW Water Polo Association’s 1st Grade grand-finals every year from 1964 (Bondi runner-up), 1965 (Universities, runner-up), 1966 (Universities, runner-up), and 1967 (Universities, runner-up). Then in 1967/68, under their Olympic coach Oscar Csuvic, Bill and his teammates John Harrison (g), Nick Barnes, Peter Fox, Warwick Lamb, Dave Cohen, Edwin Tindall, Ron Greenaway, Brian Elliot and a young Peter Montgomery, managed to defeat Bronte by the leanest of margins (3~2), to claim their inaugural NSW premiership. The building process that lead to this achievement ushered in an era of hegemony for the Universities club, that saw them claim 13 additional 1st Grade premierships over the next 20 years.

Bill played on for a number of seasons and helped Universities claim two more NSW 1st Grade premierships with victories over Balmain in 1972 (4~3), and against an emerging Cronulla in 1973 (6~4). He remained a lawyer for the rest of his life and developed an admirable property portfolio. At the same time he was a financial supporter of the NSW and Australian Water Polo bodies, and was a philanthropist in general for a number of causes. But his passion was the water and he trained regularly and competed for the Tattersalls Club in Sydney, at numerous events including World Masters swimming and surf life saving championships for Whale Beach SLSC.

Bill Berge-Phillips Jr. had a powerful physique with a cannon shot, he was a formidable player and a great team man. He will be sadly missed by his family, his many colleagues and ex-teammates, who knew him to be an outstanding water polo player, a gentleman and friend. Rest in peace.

Compiled by Dr Tracy Rockwell for Water Polo Australia