Walter John Burfitt-Williams was born in Bellevue Hill, Sydney, on 27 June 1927. His father, Grosvenor John Williams, was an ophthalmic surgeon. His mother, Mary Boyd Burfitt, was a physician. Two of his brothers were doctors - Thomas was a physician and Grosvenor, an ophthalmologist. Walter was

Wyn Beasley, with incredible power of observation and memory, and placing great value on intellectual curiosity, acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge of a broad range of subjects. Traversing both arts and sciences he could readily be described as a polymath. Even though he was a very capable musician