Tom & Katie Head To Australia

POSTED: 10:13 am PST February 17, 2006

UPDATED: 11:19 am PST February 17, 2006

Tom Cruise and his pregnant fiancee, Katie Holmes, were among the celebrities who bid farewell Friday to Australian media mogul Kerry Packer at a state memorial service at Sydney Opera House. Some 1,800 guests gathered at the building on the edge of Sydney Harbor to pay tribute to Packer, the country's richest man, who was known worldwide for his love of sports and gambling. He died at his Sydney home on Dec. 26, at age 68, after a long battle with cancer and kidney failure. Prime Minister John Howard, Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe and golfer Greg Norman also were among the guests at the service. Crowe read Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" on behalf of Packer's daughter Gretel. The late mogul's son James, who has taken control of the family company, paid his own tribute.

PHOTO GALLERY Tom & Katie

Packer is also survived by his wife of 42 years, Roslyn. Police said they charged eight people who were protesting outside the Opera House because the memorial service was funded by Australian taxpayers. Forbes magazine ranked Packer as the world's 94th wealthiest person, with a $5 billion fortune amassed through his family's company, Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd., which he inherited from his father in 1974. He was widely known for his love of cricket and is credited with reinventing the limited-overs game to appeal to a wider television audience. Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting and cricketers Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Steve Waugh attended the memorial. Packer owned Melbourne's Crown Casino complex, Australia's largest. He was also one of the country's largest landowners and cattle barons -- with Australian properties said to cover an area bigger than Belgium.