Together with family members, hundreds of friends and admirers packed the Donald Anglican Church and surrounds on Monday, December 2, for the service celebrating the remarkable life of legendary sports therapist, the late Pat Allen.
The service was conducted by the Rev. Judi Bird, who spoke feelingly of the difference made by Pat to the lives of people from near and far. Those present were there to share not only the sadness of the day, but also the thankfulness felt over Pat’s extraordinary influence on their lives.
Greeting them as they made their way into the church was the famous theme of Aussie Rules football, “Up There, Cazaly”.
Two AFL footballers who thanked Pat for “saving their careers, and the careers of other players who needed his expertise”, were Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver, and former Collingwood captain, Nick Maxwell.
Among other speakers who had reason to pay tribute was champion jockey Brad Rawiller, who recalled being “amazed at what Pat could do with his hands – nothing was too hard for Pat; he was always about helping others”.
Family members
One of Pat’s close family members, who also spoke at the church, was his niece, Sharyn Black, whose home these days is at Bowral.
The following are excerpts from Sharyn’s entertaining recollections of life with Uncle Pat:
“Uncle Pat: The man, no myth . . . all legend.
“Pat’s nieces and nephews, have been lucky enough to travel to many parts of Australia, and it seems no matter where we go, someone has heard of the man with magic hands from Donald, to which we proudly reply, ‘That is my Uncle’.
“Uncle Pat impacted the lives of so many people n nothing other than a positive way, though none so much as he did his family.
“Our favourite moments with Pat have long been talked about at family gatherings – I will share a few – the time he took Sally and Sharyn, 10 years old at the time, to see the show “My Fair Lady” in Ballarat. We two girls at the time, ordered our drink of choice, “Fluffy Ducks”. For those who don’t know (because Pat certainly didn’t) a Fluffy Duck comprises several shots of alcoholic liqueur . . . gin being one of them. Pat was all too happy to oblige. We still laugh as long and hard about it today probably as much as Sally and I did at the time. Apparently everything is funny when your 10 and tipsy.
“All things footy, cricket, his work, and getting the odd dodgy horse tip are among the great memories we’ll forever cherish.
For Danny, this includes receiving what they now call “constructive criticism” after Uncle Pat watched one of his bowling spells at the Jeffcott Oval. He viewed this from his lounge room 500 metres away through the lens of his binoculars.
Needless to say following the advice, Dan never bowled a short ball at the Jeffcott oval again, in fear that the binoculars were out. But that was Uncle Pat, always had a proud interest in what we were doing, wanting us to do well and telling us how he saw it.
“Pat was generous in every way . . . Nephew Trent remembers helping Nelia in his home away from home – with no rules and ‘Simpsons’ on rerun . . . hanging with the fav. Cousin, Alyssa, rearranging the lounge room.
As an 8-year-old . . . he was excited by the payment from Pat for a job well done . . . chips and gravy, and more chocolates and lollies than a kid could ever dream of. Elizabeth Street was a second home . . . a port of call whenever we were home. Come for a swim . . . as long as you are quiet and take a pack of Kooka’s, tub of Rawleys . . .!
See more tributes and images in the issue.
This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 6 December 2024.
