David "Toota" Trewarne is quintessentially Eaglehawk.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Born on August 19, 1932 just over the Jobs Gully Bridge, Toota has spent his life living in and serving the Borough community.
"Eaglehawk has got a great loyalty to it and people have always been proud to be from Eaglehawk," he said.
With achievements and memberships both past and current to countless community organisations and clubs, it is difficult to know where to begin when chronicling such a community stalwart.
Toota's Country Fire Authority life membership and volunteering as part of the Eaglehawk Fire Brigade for nearly 70 years is a good place to start.
Joining the fire brigade when he was 19 years old, Toota became a lieutenant of the fire brigade and pulled the reel for many years.
He said that volunteering for the fire brigade brought out the best in everyone in Eaglehawk.
"The one thing about the fire brigade is that it wasn't like football," Toota said.
"In football, there were always a few blokes looking to get a quid on the side.
READ MORE: Home has its own appeal
"The fire brigade was a voluntary thing and people just did their bit to help the community.
"I enjoyed everything I did for the fire brigade and it was about service."
Fire safety has improved dramatically since Toota was helping to extinguish blazes, with the advent of smoke alarms and high powered vehicles transforming volunteer firefighting.
"In the old days, you'd have to get on the bike and the water pump would only have 180 gallons of water," he said.
The fire brigade was a voluntary thing and people just did their bit to help the community.
- David "Toota" Trewarne
Toota competed in fire brigade demonstrations, something that Eaglehawk Dahlia and Arts festival president and lifelong friend David Richards vividly recalls.
"Toota was the one who pulled the reel at the front," Mr Richards said.
"Eaglehawk had a lot of success in the champion fours and Toota was one of the men behind that."
Toota's involvement in local sport has seen him play, organise and become recognised as a life member of numerous teams and associations.
A football player for Eaglehawk and Bridgewater, when his playing days were over, he coached the Eaglehawk Football Club reserves for many years.
The Bendigo Umpires Association was Toota's next calling, where he was president for eight years and is now a life member.
"When I was president of the umpires, I used to send out about 65 umpires all around the bush to umpire games," Toota said.
For more than 50 years though, Toota was out at racetracks across the state, working as a penciller.
The right hand man of a bookmaker, the penciller was tasked with keeping a running total of the money that the book is holding on all runners in the races.
In the right-hand margin of a big betting sheet, Toota would note the bets taken.
"You had to add up all the figures in your head.
"One day at the Melbourne Cup, we took 2500 bets for the day.
"You can imagine adding them all up after a day," he said.
By the time a field jumps away, the bookie knew where was standing, thanks to Toota's speedy mental arithmetic.
Never an owner of a horse, trot or greyhound, Toota's interest in racing waned over the years.
"I used to go a lot and that's why I never got married.
"I was never home," he said.
Toota did eventually get married, when he was 39 years old, to Anne Amsing, and they have three children, Louise, Michael and Angela.
A president of seven clubs simultaneously, Toota was matter of fact about marrying later in life.
"I never had the time to get married.
"In my spare time I used to be a penciller and go to the races on a Saturday.
"That's when I wasn't playing football or umpiring or part of another club or association," he said.
One of those associations is the Eaglehawk Tennis Association, of which Toota is a life member.
Mr Richards recalls playing tennis against Toota in his teenage years.
"I can remember playing tennis against Dave when I was probably 16 years old and he was well into his twenties and in his prime," Mr Richards said.
"There were a few grand finals we played in tennis and eventually he was beaten, but it took a long, long time."
The Eaglehawk Tennis Association is something that has drawn the two men together over the years, both on and off the court.
"It is hard to believe that the tennis association, back in those days, had 60 senior and 60 junior teams play every Saturday," Mr Richards said.
Toota became a revered figure in Eaglehawk thanks to his professional work as a metre reader for the State Electricity Commission for 40 years.
Familiarity with every nook and cranny of the Borough and who lives where was something Toota prided himself on.
The community has changed in recent times, with some things for the better and others, not so much.
"When you look around the town, there used to be four or five butcher shops and grocery shops and now everyone goes to the supermarket.
"You don't know people like in the old days," he said.
Toota recalls the population of Eaglehawk in the 1940s to the exact number.
"When I was going to school at St Liborius, the population of Eaglehawk was 3812.
"I learn that from going to school in 1940," he said.
Today, Eaglehawk is home for nearly 6000 people.
"People in Eaglehawk used to work for railway or state rivers, or just in government departments.
"Those departments don't exist now and people work entirely different jobs," Toota said.
The Eaglehawk community has grown and diversified, but so has its infrastructure, according to Toota.
"The housing has improved so much now, the roads are sealed and everyone has a motor car," he said.
"We used to ride the tram to school or go to the football and now everyone gets in their cars."
This week, Toota was due to open the Dahlia and Arts festival at Eaglehawk Town Hall.
A local icon is invited to open the festival and when Toota was suggested, it was a no brainer for Mr Richards.
"Toota is a real icon and has devoted his life to Eaglehawk," Mr Richards said.
"When I was growing up, he was always a figure that you could look up.
"Eaglehawk is so blessed to have Toota."
