October-November 2008 BLACKWOOD NEWS 19
he met Robina at Blackwood,
where his parents had a holiday
house & Robina’s parents owned
the general store. This was the
beginning of their relationship
which lasted for 32 years. They
held their engagement party at
the North Melbourne Club rooms.
Peter was a one-eyed North
Melbourne supporter. They
married on the 18th Nov 1978 at
Overnewton Castle in Keilor. This
November is their 30th Wedding
Anniversary.
Robina remembers the rst
time Peter took her out. He picked
her up in his valiant. The front
passenger oor was his toolbox
& the back seat his wardrobe.
Robina will never forget when
Peter rst introduced her to his
extended family in Werribee. He
rode his cousins motorbike
through Aunty Barb’s house.
Peter & Robina lived in
Avondale Heights for 13 years.
Every weekend they had a
houseful of visitors from Geelong
& Werribee. Peter worked for
Keilor Council beginning in the
outdoor sta & then working his
way to the indoor sta, forming
many life long friendships.
In 1988, after 9 years of
marriage & to everyones shock
their rst daughter Kathryn was
born.
In 1989 they bought Peter’s
parents holiday house & moved
to Blackwood & in 1990 Nicole
was born. When Peter told the
family they had another girl &
that she had red hair, no-one
believed him. They all expected a
boy!
Peter was very involved in
Kathryn & Nicole’s early education
at the Blackwood Kindergarten,
helping build the playground &
fence at the back of the hall.
Kathryn & Nicole both went to
Myrniong Primary School where
Peter was on school council for
10 years, 9 of these as president.
I will never forget the rst time
I met Peter at a school BBQ. He
oozed confidence & had real
presence. A man to be listened to,
a very rm handshake & a person
who commanded respect. After
the initial introductions, Peter
took me aside, looked me straight
in the eye & said “You know Allan,
I got a lot going for me, I can talk,
I can dance, I dress to impress &
I’m the best looking bloke in
Blackwood”. To this day I believe
he was serious.
Peter worked hard at Myrniong
to get the new shelter shed built
& the running track formed.
He also went on both girls
school camps each year. At the
time they were not happy about
that but now appreciate the time
he spent with them. One of the
highlights of my school year was
going on school camp with Peter.
I soon realised that he wasn’t
good at everything, he couldn’t
play cards but loved to blu.
He was a great story teller. I
used to sit in awe - mouth open
listening in amazement as Peter
told many wonderful stories of
his great adventures - no matter
how many times he told the same
story, it was always exciting, had
a few more people, details &
amazing facts in it. But don’t
worry, because Peter had 2
mottoes when on camp. ‘What
happens on camp, stays on camp
so your secrets are safe with me!’
& ‘Never let the truth get in the
way of a good story!’
Peter also looked forward the
Myrniong Cup night & school
trivia night. He enjoyed dressing
up in fancy dress. Once he went
as 1/2 man & 1/2 woman &
another time in pink glittery
overalls with pink makeup & pink
shoes.
After 5 years travelling to Keilor
for work, Peter was made
redundant when they closed
down his department. Peter then
started up a contracting business
with Ken Whien. When Ken left
the business, Peter continued for
a number of years & then decided
to get a job with Emoleum, based
in Melton. This meant travelling
again, as his last job had been
concreting with Moorabool
Shire.
Even before moving to
Blackwood permanently, Peter
was involved with the Blackwood
Fire Brigade. He was able to
attend a function earlier this year
to unveil a plaque recognising his
contribution to the Blackwood
CFA (see Blackwood News, Vol 1
Issue 1, p1)
For 13-14 years, Peter MC’d at
the Blackwood Easter Carnival
run by the Blackwood Progress
Association & was president or
committee member for a number
of years. Even though he was
very sick by Easter this year, he
arrived on his scooter &
announced parade events as
they came into the sports ground.
He loved to organise the Tug-O-
War events & was there to
supervise this year.
Peter was also a founding
member of the Blackwood CERT
team, believing it was a necessity
for Blackwood. He encouraged
Kathryn to do the training & she
became an active member at age
16. 2 years later Nicole also
became an active member. He
was very proud of the girls’
involvement with CERT &
encouraged them to become
volunteers in their community.
Peter enjoyed a party & loved
to dance. When “Nutbush” came
on he was up there dancing with
all the ladies.
Usually when he got dressed
to go out, he had Robina & the
girls running around after him!
He was always changing his mind
about which shirt or jacket he
should wear & had 1/2 his clothes
pulled out of the wardrobe trying
things on. When the girls thought
they were ready to go, Peter
would change his mind again &
have Robina ironing yet another
shirt or Kathryn & Nicole looking
for his earrings, deciding which
one he should wear!
Peter had no understanding of
time! If he said he was going to
be 1/2 an hour late that meant at
least 3 hours. If he said he
wouldn’t be long, that meant he
might be home by midnight & if
he said he’d see you later, that
meant sometime tomorrow!
Once he said he was tired so he
would only go & have a few drinks
then be back. Two hours later he
called to say he was in Echuca
because he had decided to go &
see Greg! Another night he rang
to say he had taken some people
to the casino & not to wait up.
Peter had a spa on the back
verandah & enjoyed many a
summer night sitting in the spa
with a whiskey & coke. Lots of
times he didn’t get out until the
sun came up.
Peter got on really well with
the girls boyfriends, Ross & Aaron.
He’d go & watch Aaron play footy
each week & when he got sick
Nicole would take him to the
matches. Peter would talk to Ross
about cars or how to build or x
this & that - he would go out on
the scooter to supervise Ross
when he was working in the yard.
For Peters birthday this year,
Robina, Kathryn & Nicole to
Warrnambool for a few days. They
were only able to do this with the
assistance of Ross & Aaron.
Peter believed his first
symptoms of Motor Neurone
Disease began about 4 years ago.
Without realising it, the manual
work he was doing was pushing
the disease along & he worked
until he physically could work no
longer. He was as devastated as
family & friends when he was
diagnosed in July last year.
As the disease progressed
Peter said he didn’t want to
continue when he lost the use of
his hands & was unable to do
anything for himself. Until a week
ago through determination &
stubbornness, he was still eating,
talking & moving, though with
difficulty. Peter only went to
hospital a few times as one of his
fears was going there & not
coming home! On a hospital visit
to Ballarat he got caught smoking
in the toilets. A nurse came & told
him o, saying he could have
blown everyone up. His response
was that ‘then he could go home’!
With the support of Geo at
Ballan District Health, Lyn & Pam
from Bacchus Marsh Palliative
Care, MND Association, Bev from
Linkages, Dr Anthony & especially
the support of family & friends.
Peter was able to stay home until
the last possible moment. He
passed away in Bacchus Marsh
Palliative Care ward with his
family & friends around him.
When we look at the sky
tonight & every night, look for
the biggest & brightest star. That’s
Peter looking down on us with
love, making sure we’re all okay.
We’re going to miss you big
fella!
... cont from p1
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phone 5368 6551
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