Big Artie was a very special man, a man who never seeked any special treatment for his achievements and put more back into this great game then most would ever know.....he loved his job of talent scout where he could travel to all corners of the out-back looking for the next Jonathon Thurston or Anthony Mundines of this game.

It was only a couple of years ago he turned down a free night with flight and all expenses paid by the sponsors to attend the presentation of Dally-M's and to recieve an award himself for his services to rugby league after his playing days.....the reason he gave for not attending this red carpet event was because he had already made a previous appointment to be at an aboriginal community hall in out-back central Queensland to talk to 250 locals about how women of the indigenous are treated so poorly by their own people, along with give the children a hand in rugby league and what it takes to get to the top of the tree....

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES ARTIE....

If you go into google and look up some of the antics artie & Tommy (Raudonikis) used to get up to together it is hilarious....the ARL/NRL brought this pair together to promote state of origin series. This pair of clowns are best mates from their playing days and some of the short video's on google will crack you up....I like the one where NSW lost so Tommy had to push big Artie in a wheel-burrow the length of Lang Park....this was only 12months after a triple by-pass an all...poor Tommy didn't win many bets over the last 6-7 years...lol..

again.......thanks for the many memories Artie..

A huge news story in Australia, which shows how big Rugby League is there, and how good Artie was.

It honestly cannot be put into words how much this man was/is respected and all the accolades big Artie recieves today tomorrow and next week could and would of been said last week, Arthur Beetson was well spoken of before death, as he is now after...... sad - sad time for a lot of people, his love ones, his aboriginal community and rugby league fans through-out the world.

3 weeks ago he was at the 4 nations final between Australia an England,as allways he had a marroon top on. He must have been with a group of Aussie spectators acting as a guide. I remember him coming over here with the Aussie touring party a couple of times.
A giant of a man both in stature and spirit,a very good player and also by all accounts a great man. RIP.

I once heard Bill Ashurst talk about him and the great battles they used to have ,but they allways ended up in smiles and handshakes.

Billy Ashurst.....now there is another real nice genuine bloke who played it hard & tough and is like Artie always respected.

These two gents would give you a smack in the mouth but they would never lower themselves to what we call today a grapple or drive into the knees of apponents. if they wanted to break a bone it would be your jaw and still share a pint at the end of a game albeit one out of a straw.....

Bill Ashurst became a convert to religion and used to go about giving talks on his finding of God.
One tale (true or legand not quite sure) goes as follows,Bill was still running a pub and he had a unique way of dealing with trouble makers in the pub.
When someone caused a row in his pub it is said that he would grab them by the scruff of the neck,make them stand in front of the bar whilst he read them a passage from the bible.
He would then take them outside and then give them a good going over,they never caused any trouble in his pub again. .

You would have to be a bloody fool to play up in the first place with Bill Ashurst behind the bar pouring beers......