A sea of more than 100 smiling cyclists meandered along bike lanes to the heart of Melbourne's city centre, as fellow friends of Tim Read watching from the curb made one thing clear.
"That's what Tim would've done."
The memory of the Victorian Greens MP pulling up on his bike with an enthusiastic grin at a climate rally or community forum lives on strongly in the minds of many, including party leader Ellen Sandell.
She was among more than 500 people who celebrated the late Brunswick MP's life at a state memorial service at the Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday.
“Tim was, to us, Mr Integrity,” Ms Sandell told the crowd.
“He was fundamentally decent and he made others want to be decent too.”
Dignitaries, friends, constituents and loved ones dressed in various shades of green packed the hall to honour the respected medical doctor, researcher and two-term MP.
The Brunswick MP passed away surrounded by family on September 19 following a public battle with metastatic skin cancer, which had quietly spread from a melanoma he had cut out six or seven years ago.
"He spent his final weeks surrounded by his beloved family at home, showered with visitors, overlooking the garden that was being rebuilt, determined to see it complete," former Greens MP and master of ceremonies Samantha Ratnam told the crowd.
A broad cross-party assemblage of parliamentary colleagues including Victorian Premier Ben Carroll, deputy premier Gabrielle Williams, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson and Nationals leader Danny O’Brien made clear the 64-year-old's vast impact on public life.
Before making history in 2018 as Brunswick's first non-Labor state representative, Dr Read worked as a GP and medical researcher specialising in the epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections.
He announced his cancer diagnosis to the public in January, revealing he would not recontest his seat at the November state election.
Joking that his father would have been “appalled at the fuss we are making”, son Martin delivered a touching tribute to the man he coined "Brunswick’s dad".
“He was a great dad and we have the absolute privilege of being able to share that with everyone else here who has a Tim Read story, because he was a dad to many - he was Brunswick’s dad,” Martin said.
“I’m also sure he would’ve expected all of you to have brought your bike or caught the tram here.”
The 64-year-old's sister Ursula Read reflected fondly on their relationship growing up in Melbourne, where her older brother introduced her to Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd.
Ms Read described her brother's boundless intelligence and brief foray from medicine to journalism, where he worked as a cadet for The Age.
"I would tell people, 'Tim doesn't want to be a health reporter, he's going to change the world'," Ms Read said.
"I'm greatly comforted that Tim did get his chance to change the world.
"He would be happy with this legacy."
Mr Carroll remembered Dr Read as a man of principle, compassion, intellect and integrity.
"Tim stood for what he believed in and he never sat down," Mr Carroll said.
"His advocacy helped make Victoria a better place."
Within the walls of Spring Street, the Brunswick MP was best remembered as an advocate for transparency, leading the parliament’s landmark Integrity and Oversight Committee that helped strengthen Victoria's anti-corruption watchdog.
His advocacy work in parliament led to public health reforms including pill testing, the abolition of public drunkenness laws, allowing gay men to donate blood and a statutory ban on solitary confinement in prisons.
"Many of these reforms will not carry his name, but his fingerprints are all over them," Ms Sandell said.
Dr Read is survived by his wife Angela, children Louisa and Martin, his mother and two sisters.
Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides and Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’, performed by the Keytones Choir, closed out the 90-minute service.
