Father Brian was born ( Brian John Morrison ) and grew up in Malvern , an inner Melbourne suburb , and moved to Western Australia in 1972 to develop the Catholic Church 's Crisis Care centre . The charity regularly distributes tonnes of food to needy West Australians , many of whom live on the streets , and organises an annual Christmas Appeal . He was also the racing chaplain in Perth In 2006 Father Brian was awarded Western Australian Senior of the year for his humanitarian work . Father Brian has collected donations from the Western Australian community to support humanitarian efforts for Australian disasters like Cyclone Tracy , 2003 Canberra bushfires and the 2009 Victorian Bushfires . In addition to his work with Western Australian communities , he travelled overseas extensively . He made thirty trips to places such as East Timor , Bangladesh , Chechnya , Thailand and Iraq to help people in need , particularly children in some of the world 's most devastated areas . Internationally Father Brian has organised relief efforts for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake , for victims of the Bali bombings and for children affected by Chernobyl disaster . He travelled to the Ukraine and the Chernobyl area four times over sixteen years to provide support and love to those who were shunned by many . During his visits to help Chernobyl victims Father Brain suffered radiation poisoning , probably through consuming contaminated food , it is thought that this was cause of his terminal lymphocytic cancer and adenocarcinoma . Father Brian died on 2 December 2009 at St John of God Hospital in Subiaco . A Pontifical Requiem Mass was held on Friday 11 December 2009 at St Mary 's Cathedral , Perth followed by a private burial
2009 Victorian Bushfires
Black Saturday bushfires
Brian Morrison