I don’t think you could say that Geoff enjoyed school. I think it may be more accurate to describe him as using school. He grabbed the things that he felt were important.

His passion for social justice, fairness for the oppressed and worker’s rights developed during his years at Dandenong High School. It was an interesting time at that school.

A year or so ahead of Geoff was Rob Jolley, later to become Victorian Treasurer in John Cain’s government, and Geoff was a neighbour of and great mates with Ian and Graeme Oldmeadow whose father Max won the local seat of Holt for the ALP in 1972.

Geoff worked on the political campaigns for both Max and Rob. Political discussion held more attraction for Geoff than some of the subjects taught at school - than most of the subjects taught at school, actually. By the time he was in Fourth Form – Year 10 for the younger people – Geoff had joined the YLA, Young Labour Association.

That was 1966 and the groundswell of opposition to the Federal Coalition Government among the young was growing, following Menzies retirement early in the year.

Australia’s involvement in Vietnam was one of the key factors in helping Geoff clarify his political position. He saw it for what it was and he was quick to take up the cause and keen to explain to others what the risks were and what the untold back story to our participation was.

His political activism continued to grow as he joined the revolutionary organisation Socialist Youth Alliance and put the skills he learned selling papers at the Dandenong Station to good use, selling the SYA paper Direct Action outside Flinders Street Station.

He was a recruiting officer for SYA and at the same time as he was a faction organiser for the Left inside the YLA. This eventually led to Geoff being expelled from the ALP for being in two political parties. Geoff claimed it was because he was too far to the left.

GEOFF was so much more than his politics, though. His love for Australian Rules football has been one of the other pillars of his life.

Scientists used to believe that once someone was a Collingwood supporter, then that was pretty much the end of them.

Geoff grew up a Collingwood supporter, but worked out when he and Gabe were living in Brisbane that football is fundamentally about community, and changed his allegiance, first to the Brisbane Bears and later, when they came back to New South Wales, to the Swans.

Such flexibility and wisdom is rare indeed among supporters of the game, especially Collingwood fans. Geoff first came to Narooma in 1981. He and his then wife, Brenda bought a small business, a jeans and clothing shop that was just up the hill from where we are today. Geoff joined the local Apex Club and began finding ways to contribute to the town.

Like many of Geoff’s mates, Barbie and I came up to visit early on in that venture and we noticed Geoff’s passion for here. We had all moved from outer suburban Melbourne into the heart of the city, Geoff to Thornbury then to East St Kilda where the three of us shared a flat.

We used to go to the Dan O’Connell pub in Carlton for the folk music. That was where Geoff grabbed on to many of those songs that he loved, and sang with gusto, like Whisky in the Jar, for instance.

So to discover that our Melbourne inner urban revolutionary folk singing comrade was in fact most at home in a little sea-side village was a real eye-opener to us, and to many others.

After a few setbacks, they decided to close the business and move back to Melbourne where Geoff spent time learning the art of real estate selling and auctioneering with his mate Graeme Oldmeadow.

Graeme assures us that Geoff’s work ethic and diligence were second to none, with the apprentice usually at work well before the master.

Graeme also recognised that Geoff always had a natural ability to talk with and empathise with people – the marks of a good natural salesperson. When Geoff and Brenda returned to Melbourne, they both involved themselves with the local football team, Keysborough – Geoff as a committee member for a team he knew little of. He learnt his craft quickly and well and, when he and Brenda separated, Geoff came back here.

Over the years since, Geoff plied his trade with a number of Real Estate agencies in the area, including Peter Ellison Real Estate, Kingsbury Nationwide, Ian Tulloch First National, Ian Christmas First National, Ben Bate Real Estate, Raine and Horne and Tony Berry & Associates.

On his return he also joined forces with a group of like-minded Aussie Rules fans and contributed to the establishment of the Narooma Lions Football Club.

It should be said that, while a true lover of the game, Geoff was not what you might call a natural footballer. The only time he took the field for the Lions was in a legends game and he couldn’t kick for nuts. He played hard every week, but that was after the game, rather than during.

Back then Geoff also worked in the bottom pub with Bruce and Sheryl Day. When Bruce and Sheryl took a break Geoff was there to look after their three children.

On many occasions there was this female police officer, Gabe, from Sydney who used to come to Narooma and into the pub on her long day breaks. Gabe loved to assist with the escort of patrons at closing time then enjoy a few staffies and Geoff loved to hear the police war stories of Sydney and in particular Kings Cross and Roger Rogerson. I have a quote from Gabe here:

“Friday 13 August 1990 was the day that Geoff’s official divorce papers came through, so he headed off to the RSL. At this time Geoff’s appearance had changed somewhat to clean shaven and a receding hair line. Geoff was well looked after behind the bar by mate Sonya Brady where he used to hand over a fiver and she used to give him back two 2’s and a 1 in change.

On that evening I was there with my parents to help celebrate my dad Otto’s 62nd birthday. I approached the bar from a southerly direction, and ordered a round of drinks and Geoff said “Are you Gabe that copper from Sydney”.

I said, “Correct, and who the f... are you?” looking at this clean shaven man in a suit.

Geoff said, “It’s me Geoff from the bottom pub. I’ve just had my divorce papers come through today.” I took one look and said, “OK do you want to come over and have a few drinks. “

When the evening finished we all headed out to the car park and Geoff said, “Can I give you a call sometime?” I said “Yes.” Then it was an exchange of phone numbers and then the kiss in the car park. “

This was the start of a beautiful friendship and a twenty year marriage. Geoff would proudly tell the story of how several of Gabe’s colleagues in blue came around to give him the once-over, making sure that his intentions were honourable.

I think I knew him well enough to say he would have married Gabe even without pressure from the long arm of the law. And the reverse is also true, despite Geoff’s mother Maisie warning Gabe that; “He’s a bit of a rebel you know.”

There are a number of stories about the rolling pin dance performed at their wedding in 1991 that I won’t regale you with here, but a bit later a number of the dancers who were there would be only too happy to share them with you.

Gabe’s job meant another move, this time to Sydney. Geoff was employed by a stationery company, Macquarie Stationery, as a sales rep and rose through the ranks pretty quickly.

Before long he was appointed to manage the Padstow branch and then the Brisbane operation of the business. A training exercise the company ran in Bali – I think they’re still called junkets – led to Geoff and Gabe’s love of that beautiful island.

Expansion of the company saw them living and working in Townsville for a period, until they moved back to Sydney and Geoff decided to stop work and focus on restoring his health. They took time to do the things they had been putting off, including that first trip to Europe.

Eventually, the call of Narooma became too strong to resist and they came back home again in 1999. Straight away, Geoff put up his hand to help the Lions whose future looked a bit uncertain at that stage. He and Gabe left town one more time, in 2003 when Gabe was transferred to Goulburn. One of the things Geoff did while there was to sell drugs, in a Police Department video about how police officers should deal with dealers. Another was to get a bike for exercising. In true fashion, it was an electric bike. For many years later, it was not uncommon to see Geoff hop on the bike, put his feet up, and topple over, having forgotten to turn the thing on. If only he had paid more attention in science classes at Dandy High!

In 2007 they moved back to Narooma, this time for good. Geoff was back into his beloved Narooma Lions, back into politics in the local branch of the ALP and still fearless enough to point out, for all to hear, where the party was going wrong. Geoff was home.

Over the decades of moving about the country, Geoff never forgot his friends. You would get a phone call out of the blue that began: Comrade! And you knew Geoff had been thinking about you and those times you shared.

On a recent edition of Q and A on ABC TV, someone asked the panel members for a definition of a life well lived. From Geoff’s life, can I suggest the following responses: standing up for what you believe in, loyalty, honesty, passion, understanding, caring and a sense of humour.

In 2009 Geoff’s older sister Rosemary passed away 2 weeks before her 60th birthday. As a special treat Geoff’s 60th birthday on New Year’s Eve was celebrated in an apartment in Milson’s Point over looking Sydney Harbour with a very special group of friends Graeme, Dave, Jan, Mel and Toni and Barbie and me. Watching the fireworks at 9pm and at midnight Geoff was over whelmed and said “If I died tomorrow I’d be the happiest man in the world.” Rest In Peace, Comrade.