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Bruce’s wedding a special celebration
Bruce and Josie Hooper are married by Rev Alex Gator at old Purga Mission. All images by Rhonda Hagan
by Stephen Hagan n a spectacular Autumn day with the temperature hovering in the mid 20 degree
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Bruce with his mother Jean and his barrister as his best man.
celcius range under a majestic blue sky west of Ispwich, in south east Queensland, Cunnamulla fella Bruce Hooper married the love of his life Josie Canning from the Sunshine Coast. With staunch social justice advocate Rev Alex Gator officiating and an assemblage of high profile activists including Sam Watson and legal personalities in attendance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the occasion was a celebration of a landmark court case. For all intents and purposes the analogy of a court case outcome to describe the joyous occasion that had invited guests, including Bruce’s famous cousin Rhan
Hooper (former Brisbane Lions and Hawthorne Hawks AFL player), awestruck is an apt description of
Bruce with his father John
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Josie’s bridal party, with flower girls in front, enjoy the very special ceremony.
the occasion. For many of the guests this is the first time they’ve been able to meet Bruce in person after enduring the most dehumanising experience of being incarcerated for a couple of decades for a crime many say he didn’t commit. Teams of influential people have tried in vain to have Bruce’s case retried in court for over twenty
years. Previously I had only seen the son of my first cousin, John Hagan, at the funeral of John’s brother Bobby last year when he attended the church service in handcuffs and surrounded by myriad of heavily armed correctional service officers. Back then I exchanged an awkward hand shake with Bruce at the funeral service and introduced
my family to him. He was happy to see all his relatives - far too many to shake hands with whilst under such tight security - but it was a pleasant experience for us all on a very sombre occasion. After decades of disappointments on false alarms that Bruce was being released it was with great relief that I’d heard he’d finally stepped out of Southern Queensland
Bruce with his best men wait patiently for the bridal party at old Purga Mission with the beautiful mountain range as their backdrop.
Stephen Hagan with son Stephen Jn and his girlfriend Anna.
Correctional Centre a free man. Not long after Bruce’s release Rhonda and I received the following wedding invitation: Bruce and Josie’s Story Bruce and Josie met in 1997 through a mutual friend Melissa. As time went on they became close friends. When Bruce moved to Rocky (Etna Creek Correctional Centre in Rockhampton from Brisbane CC), Melissa and Josie surprised Bruce with a visit at Rocky, they kept in contact through phone calls and letters, when Bruce returned from Rocky in 2000. Bruce made contact with Josie on his return and they started to write to each other, Josie and Joseph (her son) started to visit Bruce on the weekends. Bruce invited Josie to NAIDOC 2001, this is where Bruce and Josie proclaimed their love to each other, and this was the start of a beautiful relationship. Over the next years their love grew strong and nothing could keep them apart. So on the beautiful old Purga Mission site on top of a hill surrounded by huge Jacaranda trees and glorious landscaped gardens the large crowd of several hundred rose as one soon after 2 p.m. as Josie and her large bridal party alighted from their stretch limousine to make the long walk to an anxious groom and his best men.
To the concluding formal words from Rev Gator “I now pronounce you husband and wife” the applause grew in intensity and would’ve echoed down the gradual
Elder Budger Davidson performed the Welcome to Country ceremony
slope of the old Purga Mission to surrounding farmlands below. Bruce - a noted tough man - was
radiant and smiling like a child in a toy shop. His mother Jean couldn’t leave his side while his humble dad John gave him a firm ‘congratualations son’ handshake before retiring away from the congestion of well wishers. It is testimony to Bruce’s charitable nature, big heart and warm, jovial disposition that many family and friends traveled great distances to attend his and Josie’s special day: his barrister was his best man as well as his counsellors, Indigenous support workers, and other judicial officers were in attendance for the gala celebration. Bruce, now an accomplish much sought after artist - with commissioned work under order by Australia’s biggest corporates - intends to paint and spend all of his lost time with Josie in their Sunshine Coast home. But before Bruce can put his feet up and look out over the Glass House Mountains he has his art exhibition to attend to in late May (see advertisement in FNT). One thing is for sure, Bruce will not dwell on his unfortunate past. With the love and attention from his beautiful wife Josie, as well as his large support base of family and friends, he will embrace the challenges ahead with renewed vigour.
Bruce and Josie Hooper