News / Obituary
Champion of progressive Brunswick passes away
Gil Freeman, 1940-2026
Brunswick Voice
Friday, April 3, 2026
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GIL Freeman, who was a towering figure in the development of progressive Brunswick in the late-20th century, passed away last week aged 85.
Freeman was influential in the establishment and development of CERES in Brunswick East in the early-1980s as an old tip on the banks of the Merri Creek was converted into an urban farm and environmental park.
Even earlier, as chairman of the Brunswick Community Group in the mid-1970s, it was at Freeman’s instigation that local residents came together to clean up the creek and its surrounds, turning it into the community asset it is today.
He also co-founded and was the first principal of the Sydney Road Community School in 1972.
Freeman and his wife Meredith moved to south Gippsland in the 1990s and ran a successful organic farming and retail business for many years.
Gil Freeman was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2023 for service to conservation and the environment.
He died on March 25 after a short illness.
A celebration of his life will held at the Masonic Centre, 25 Bridge Street, Korumburra at 1pm on April 25.
Brunswick Voice will be publishing a full obituary for Gil Freeman in coming days, but in the meantime, we are resharing a feature we published about him in 2023.
Chris Ennis, Business Innovation Director at CERES, has also written a tribute to Gil Freeman here.
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