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The haunting final post of art entrepreneur Tim Klingender is a simple message attached to the view from his office above Bondi Beach the day before he embarked on the fateful fishing trip which ended his life.
And tributes to the 58-year-old who perished just a few kilometres north of where the photo was taken give a clue as to why he made the fateful decision to depart by inflatable boat into the huge swells which were battering the east coast six days ago.
Mr Klingender, who died about 10am last Thursday with his missing, presumed dead friend Andrew Findlay, posted images of a cheerful room cluttered with books, Aboriginal paintings and a stretch of ocean up to Ben Buckler Point.
Hours later the 58-year-old would be found naked wearing only his socks among the debris of his smashed fishing boat, with tech guru and St Joseph’s College old boy Mr Findlay still unaccounted for, despite an intensive air and sea search.
Writing last Wednesday about ‘our office looking inviting this morning’, with its terrace overlooking the beach and ocean, Mr Klingender’s simple post has attracted messages of love and lament from friends who will miss him dearly.
A US art colleague said ‘you breathed life into everything … There are no words for such a huge loss’, while another noted Mr Klingender’s ‘immense eye, knowledge & passion.’
Tim Klingender (above with his wife Skye McCardle) was a passionate fisherman, his friends said, leaving heartfelt tributes on his last Instagram post the day before his fateful trip
Last Wednesday Tim Klingender wrote a final post on Instagram with a photo from his officer overlooking Bondi Beach from where he set out early the next day to go fishing with Mr Findlay
One post shed light on why Mr Klingender and 51-year-old Mr Findlay would have embarked on a voyage from Bondi up to Watsons Bay through treacherous seas early on Thursday.
As well as founding the Aboriginal art department of auction house Sotheby’s and nurturing Indigenous stars such as Emily Kngwarreye and Rover Thomas, Mr Klingender was also a passionate fisherman.
The friend posted about dinner on the ‘stunning’ Bondi terrace on a ‘balmy Summer evening’ when Mr Klingender ‘cooked us a fish that you had just caught that morning’.
‘You prepared and served it with reverence and passion, as you respected the sanctity of the catch of the day, and the labour it took for it to arrive on our table.
‘In those moments, I saw how much the joy of fishing meant to you. You undertook everything you did, with passion, dedication and love, and you respected and admired the beauty and transcendence of art and life.’
Another sent love to Mr Klingender’s wife, Skye McCardle and ‘your wonderful children’.
Mr Klingender went on a fishing trip around 7.30am last Thursday from Bondi on his 7.85-metre Brig Eagle inflatable fishing boat, which was hit by 5m waves and smashed into rocks at The Gap in Watsons Bay about 10am.
A friend writing on Tim Klingender’s final Instagram post described the art guru as a passionate fisherman who displayed just ‘how much the joy of fishing meant to you’
Andrew Findlay, 51 (above) is still missing since last week’s boating tragedy in high seas after he embarked on a morning’s fishing with his friend, Tim Klingender
Police would later describe the waters off Bondi and Watsons Bay on Thursday morning as ‘violent sea conditions’, and suggested they sailed too close to the cliffs off which they were trolling.
The men were using the fishing method that involves trailing lines behind the vessel.
Superintendent Joe McNulty of Marine Area Command said waves up to five metres high had pushed the boat into the rocks.
Mr Klingender’s naked body was found among debris scattered among the rocks below Jacobs Ladder at South Head.
Lingering dangerous conditions through the weekend prevented police from recovering evidence from the vessel, and hampered the search for Mr Findlay.
An air and sea search over three days was called off last weekend as Marine Area Command police said the timeframe for Mr Findlay’s survival in cold July waters had expired
Supt McNulty said the July water temperature was too cold for anyone who went overboard to survive more than a day, and by Saturday had scaled back the search for Mr Findlay.
He leaves a partner Lakshmi Pillai, and three children by his former partner Lizzie Kemp. Mr Klingender was the father of two children.
