Max Waker is the son of a Master Builder/Publican and attended a Quaker School in Hobart, Tasmania. Sport was an obsession – especially football and cricket.
At an early age his above average talents were recognised and encouraged.
At 18 he crossed Bass Straight to pursue his passions and seek his sporting destiny. Melbourne Football Club talent scouts had earmarked the schoolboy potential (he played 85 senior VFL games with the Demons.) At the same time his cricket career flourished. First as a bowler for the Melbourne Cricket Club … soon Max was playing for Victoria. In 1972/73 he was rewarded with a Baggy Green Cap … sharing the Australian dressing room with legends of the game – Ian and Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Rodney Marsh, Jeff Thomson and Doug Walters.
Cricket had an enormous impact on his life. Max was an early signature to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket revolution. A turbulent 2 years expanding the television mogul’s vision for the marriage of prime time television and sport. It became a marketing magnet and players like Max ‘Tangles’ Walker became more than just cricketers.
He became the face and voice of multi-million dollar marketing campaigns. The television advertising campaign “Avagoodweegend, Mr Walker” catapulted the Aeroguard insect repellent to instant recognition – and 30 years later it is still recognised as part of the Aussie vernacular.
West Hobart info needed –
- Parents ran what was to become the Hill St Grocer corner shop prior to taking on the Empire Hotel in Elizabeth Street.
- He used to challenge clients to cricket in the back yard of the pub.
- He became good at bowling trying to bowl his late sister out, who was an even great batter.
Obituary
Maxwell Henry Norman “Max” Walker AM (12 September 1948 – 28 September 2016) was an Australian sportsman who played both cricket and Australian rules football at high levels.
After six years of balancing first-class cricket in summer, professional football in winter and study for a degree in architecture, Walker earned a place in the Australian cricket team in 1973 and represented his country in the sport until injury ended his career in 1981.
Following his retirement he worked as an architect and also commenced a career in radio and television media.
He wrote 14 books over a period of thirty years and became a successful public speaker.
His unorthodox cricket bowling action earned him the nickname “Tangles”, and his larrikin character made him a much-loved figure with the Australian public.
Walker died of myeloma on 28 September 2016 after being diagnosed with the disease three years earlier.
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