DEVIATE DONATION: Members of the Dalmeny Deviates handed over $500 to the Dalmeny Fire Brigade on Saturday. Young Aisha Thomas is pictured here with a couple of Dalmeny Deviates including dad Andrew Thomas, Peter Gruber and Ian Dixon, along with RFS crew Damian Cross, Kevin Cain, Peter Tulk, Chris Roberts, Paul Stebbing, Jason Snell, Leanne Jones, Rhonda Hill, Bruce Gillam, Captain Mick Anderson and Deputy Captain Greg Hill.
PATHWAY DONATION: Marc Jazbec of Jazzi’s Motors presents Narelle Davis of the Shared Pathway Committee a cheque for $2200 towards the shared pathway. Marc very kindly donated a Peugeot Moped motor scooter to be raffled by the Dalmeny Deviates at their fundraiser which it was, raising the $2200 that Marc then donated to the Shared Pathway project.
MEMBERS of the Dalmeny Deviates met up with the Dalmeny Fire Brigade on Saturday to donate $500 to the local RFS crew.
Dalmeny Rural Fire Brigade captain Mick Anderson said that the Deviates are fantastic men.
“They used to be real larrikins who really liked to have a good time,” he said.
The money was raised at the recent Deviates’ annual bowls day when the lads, partners and friends gathered for a day of fun, laughter, a barbecue lunch, auction and an afternoon playing barefoot bowls on the green at Club Narooma.
The Dalmeny Deviates have been continually raising money that goes towards assisting various organisations within the community since the 1970s.
The group was formed when a veteran’s touch football team were having a beer or two at the old Hylands Hotel (now O’Brien’s Hotel). The lads were known for their wayward ways and when someone said “You’re a bunch of deviates”, well, the name stuck.
Founding members still with us today include Bob Burnside, Ken Shepherd and Deviate president John Rowley.
John Rowley put together a footy team when he hadn’t couldn’t get a start with any other team.
They didn’t win a game for the first two years but that didn’t bother the boys; they had a different agenda.
The Dalmeny fella’s bent the rules a bit in their second year and allowed a Kianga resident Jeff Loudoun aka Toad into the group.
The Toad recalls with a chuckle the days of the compulsory consumption of a bottle of Bodega after each game of touch footy.
The lads liked to drink and there were no wowsers allowed on the team.
They may have been deviates but the guys had good hearts and over the years they began lending a hand when and wherever they could.
Mostly tradesmen, they put in many an hour’s labour on numerous projects.
Soon they realised they could raise money for the community from social events and even ran gambling nights played with Monopoly money.
The Dalmeny Deviates decided they would hold one annual fundraising event. Initially this was a day of golf day but in recent years it changed to a bowls.
Every year the Deviates day of fun drums up around $5000 and the committee decides how to allocate the funds.
This year donations are headed to Narooma Bowls Tournament, Narooma Fire Brigade, Dalmeny Rural Fire Brigade, Volunteer Rescue Association, Narooma Blue Water Dragons, Surf Sistas, Animal Welfare League, Marine Rescue Narooma, Narooma Swim Club, Narooma Water-ski club, Narooma Little Athletics, Narooma Public School and Illawarra Retirement Trust.
On top of the five grand raised this year a scooter, donated by Jazis Motors, fetched $2200. This money is going toward the last stage of the Narooma Dalmeny Shared Pathway.
The whole premise of the Dalmeny Deviates has been to have a great time and Jeff Loudon agrees “It’s been lots of fun over the 30 odd years; great family events and celebrations”.