Vale Robert Edmund Pettit 22 Jan 2013

VALE ROBERT EDMUND PETTIT – 22 JAN 2013.

Bob (as he used to be called) spent his early working life as a Wool Classer, whose job was to take the freshly-shorn fleece in the shearing shed, dump it on the Sorting Table and inspect it for quality such as fibre length, diameter-variation, strength, colour, crimp, etc., and judge it accordingly.

Over the last thirty years Bob’s job has been replaced by a little black box full of electronics. However it did not deter Bob from his continuing interest in what was going on in the state of Victoria. He had assembled a personal ongoing databank of history and geography, and knowledge of who did what and when.

For example, In the 1890s the Great Exhibition was held in the then new Exhibition Buildings in East Melbourne. To cater for all the national and international visitors, the State Government set up a kiosk at Southern Cross (Spencer Street) railway station, manned by two people, to give advice on all the sightseeing activities the State could offer.

Thus the Victorian Tourist Bureau was created.

Bob was on his way to becoming one of those “Living Legends” – a sort of walking thesaurus on this subject. Working with the Victorian Tourist Bureau assisted Bob in pursuing that interest.

It also helped him in the preparation of their annual glossy magazines on Victorian wineries, a much-prized publication of the Bureau.

In those days, Melbourne and North Adelaide (the second oldest Australian Lacrosse Club) would visit each other every second year with a view to playing lacrosse and drinking lots of beer – not necessarily in that order. Bob would take the scenic route there and back, seeking out places of specific interest and adding to his personal data bank of knowledge.

For many years he would be charged with taking a coach-load of people down to the Warrnambool races and acting as their very interesting Tour Guide.

In the 1980s he was transferred for two years to Wellington, N.Z. as Victoria’s representative with the N.Z Tourism Industry, where he became “Rob” or “Robbie”.

This job must have suited him, because he came back as a fit and good-looking 75kg gent. However, more’s the pity, in 9 months he returned to his more spherical shape by which he became recognised.

Rob stayed with the State Govt. for 30 years, being rewarded with a window seat in the office as an acknowledgement.

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Rob was a member of the 72 A reserve Premiership team and the 74 C grade premiership team at Malvern, after which Rob joined Melbourne Lacrosse with one John Neilson who later became Melbourne Lacrosse Chairman. Despite the move he maintained a number of friendships with his old team mates.

Rob was a long serving secretary for the Melbourne Cricket Club Lacrosse Section, he first took on the position in 1985 and it was a position that he held consecutively from 1997 right up until his passing. Rob had a reputation for the attention to details. He spent a lot of time and energy fixing the little things. He had an enormous reputation for being there to do things that other people overlooked. A lot of his essential activities went unnoticed.

Rob would be first at the Albert Ground to open in the morning – and usually last to leave after everyone else had left and he’d clean up and secure the place. He would spend enormous time attending meetings regarding all sorts of activities which were even dimly related to Lacrosse or our Club.

Rob is a Life Member of Melbourne Lacrosse and of the V.L.A. ______

Rob did have a sense of humour which was somewhat reserved and quiet. In fact you could miss it if you weren’t concentrating.

One of his earlier party pieces for which he became famous was the old fairy story of Rindercella and her Slagic Mippers. This started off with “tonce upon a wime, gong, gong, alow, in a Coreign Funtry lived a Pransome Hince, who wanted to meet a Meautiful Baiden and Met Garried so that together they could Cule his Ringdom.

And so it went on. Her two Sugly Isters were invited to the Brince’s Pall but Rindercella Nos Wot.

Then came the intervention of her Gairy Fodmother who did lots of magic things with Mite Wice and a Cump Pin, and a pair of Slagic Mippers.

And so it went on. She had to be home by nidmight or she would lose her Clancy Flothes, etc.

But she and the Pransome Hince got so entranced with each other they Gorfot the time and the Strock Clucked Nidmight!

Rindercella Stan down the Rairs, and guess what? She Slopped her Drippers.

And so it went on, and on.

R.A.CRAWFORD.