Vale Roy 'Arnold' Bell: historic boxing tent raised for fitting farewell to a showman

Roy "Arnold" Bell spent his life on the road with the boxing tent, then with games and entertainment, retiring to Forbes less than 12 months ago

Family and many friends gathered at Forbes cemetery to celebrate the colourful life of a much-loved man - a familiar face we loved to see year after year as the show came to town.

Mr Bell is survived by his wife Maryanne, daughter Tam and her husband Phil, grandchildren Jessamy, Brianna, Shannon, Braeden, Amelia and Alex, and his 11 great grandchildren.

His funeral was at Forbes cemetery on Wednesday, June 28 - and not like any other.

The family rallied to set up the 60-year-old boxing tent and it was packed to capacity, daughter Tamara Bell said.

Her dad would have loved it, she reckons.

Roy "Arnold" Bell grew up on the show circuit, travelling with his dad Roy Bell and - when he was old enough - making his entry into the boxing tent.

"Back in those days they were all tent shows based on skill, ability, you had to do something and be good at it to fill your tent up," Tam said.

Arnold and his brother started out as boxers, taking on all challengers as they travelled.

"It was never serious - all for show," Tam said. "It was entertaining."

It was all about rallying the crowd and getting them involved - and that was Arnold's next role as a spruiker. It was one he was incredibly skilled at.

When his dad passed away Arnold ran the boxing tent for a year before packing it away.

In the next generation Tam's cousin Michael Karaitiana took it up and took it on the road again.

"Dad met up with them at St George show: he got up on that line-up board, he started spruiking and his spiel, like there hadn't been 10 plus years in between. We had an exhibition here at Forbes a few years ago: my dad just loved it, he loved being on the microphone, telling stories."

Arnold moved into games, known for his lucky ducks which he always had at Forbes Show. He was well liked and people would come to greet him year after year.

The shows and our travelling showmen have always captured the heart of the nation and Tam reckons her dad would be the most photographed and videoed man in this country.

He portrayed his father in a Lionel Rose movie, Rose Against the Odds.

"The film crew were so amazed by my dad that they would do this to him just to test him out: they would say "Cut" and then they'd say "take" and they couldn't get over that he could start off exactly where he stopped," she said.

As the decades rolled on, Arnold and Maryanne continued travelling in the caravan, going show to show.

It's a lifestyle he loved - and an amazing one to raise his daughter in, Tam said.

"I was born into it as well, like my dad, and it was a really good way of life," she said.

"We spent a lot of time outside because caravans in those days were only really just to sleep in. We'd be riding ponies, catching yabbies, playing games."

The kids were always surrounded by friends, and then they'd branch off in different directions and come back together on another run.

"Dad had a very easy going nature, people liked him - people he'd see at different shows - people he'd known for most of his life," Tam said.

"Dad was a good guy, a really nice man."

Times have changed on the show circuit as much as anywhere else, and Arnold would often reflect on that with his daughter.

"He'd say, "you know what? All these big flash caravans have ruined the fire"."

The campfire was the centre of community life on the show circuit after hours in the days before television.

It was August last year when Arnold called time on his career - to even his daughter's surprise - and parked the caravan in Forbes.

His death, aged 85, marks the end of an era.