LTUBC 40th ANNIVERSARY SPOTLIGHT - NEWCASTLE 1979
LA TROBE
UNIVERSITY
NEWCASTLE 1979
Photo. Top left to right:
Ross Close, Wayne Finlayson, Andy McIntosh, George Devescovi
Front: Mark Batros, Barry Parsons, Geoff Brown, Chris Brooking
MY NEWCASTLE 1979 RECOLLECTION - By Barry Parsons
Newcastle 1979 was my first IV and the team was pretty handy, but not quite in semi-final class. We were all fit, which was a good head start in those days.
The trip started on Saturday night at the Savoy Tavern in Spencer Street, then over the road to the station for the train. I warmed up with a big day at Victoria Park, so little preparation was required apart from a few smuggled supplies. Two guys didn't make the trip at the last minute, so that left us with 8 for the week. Seems quite a squad fast forwarding to Swan Hill 6 years later. It was a very boozy trip before checking in to the motel in Newcastle. The motel was located next to the rail yards near Broadmeadow stadium, so fairly salubrious surroundings made even less so after UWA checked in after us. First sight of Spider, so the start of another long friendship from basketball. Usual jumping on motel beds, practical jokes, working out where the closest pubs were, bouncing balls in the rooms followed, then off to welcoming drinks and the first sight of the famed Macquarie boys - Anton, Tonka and George - moving along the tables eating handfulls of cheese balls and sculling sherry.
Games are a bit of a blur. Keeping up with Ross Close was the hardest as he thought a lot faster than us, though he came back to the pack as the week went on. Browny, George Devescovi, Wayne Finalyson and Chris Brooking were the elder statesman (more than one IV) and the rest of us were virgins. Joffa came to lend moral support and anchor the boat race team and Clive Watson did his best to corrupt all the younguns as much as he was. Batty came for the chicks and turned up to games to pass the time and fortunately these were all in the daytime or we may have had 7. Jimmy Ralph seemed a bit scary then, as Bulleen coaches didn't yell as much, but he seemed to find a way to get the best out of the squad in those days and we ended up in the 5th vs 6th playoff. I think we lost to ANU (including John Ophel), but it didn't matter that much by the end of the week. Ross made the rep team so that called for more drinks at the final dinner. The social highlight was the boat race night on the rugby pitch at the uni. We had our first heat at around 11:00 so we were wasted by then and it was also 2 or 3 degress which didn't help.
The train home was very slow and we were kept company by our new mascot Elvis, a mackeral that Ross had bought and had in his room for a few days. It was hung from the luggage rack in our carriage in a Flag Ale box and really stunk by the time we got to Melbourne. Elvis was preserved and brought to Perth in 1983, but his present whereabouts are unknown. IV reunion was held a few days later at the Rising Sun Hotel in Sth Melbourne, so the reminiscing started early and has kept going.
Great times and lots of laughs and this team was the start of a long run of success for the mens teams.
Last Modified on 04/06/2007 16:47
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