By Kath Gannaway
THE year 1958 was a fortunate one for the Warburton district.
It was the year Les and Olive Byers moved to East Warburton and the beginning of a mutually rewarding relationship.
“Les got involved in the community to an extent that few could match,” Warburton Presbyterian minister Tony Archer said of the 92-year-old who, over five decades, contributed unstintingly to local church, emergency service, sporting and community organisations.
Leslie Byers was born on June 3, 1915, in North Fremantle, Western Australia, the youngest son of seven children.
The family moved to Bayswater in about 1919. After their parents’ death, the farm where they had grown vegetables and flowers was divided among the children.
But times were tough and Mr Byers eventually sold his share and moved to “rural” Bayswater, where he met the love of his life, Olive Tremain.
The couple married in 1956 and two years after moved into the East Warburton house they would call home for the next 50 years.
Their first son, Rodney, was born in 1958 and 10 years later Peter arrived.
Mr Byers’ love of the land and his inherited “green thumb” saw him working for some time at Mrs Norris’s farm in Woori Yallock.
He later joined the Country Roads Board where over 20 years he made life-long friends including Monty Trendfield, Ronald Clinch and Ray Dafter.
Peter recalled it wasn’t until 1979, two years after his father retired from the workforce, that electricity was put on to the house in East Warby.
Mr Byers loved sport. He was a boxer, competed as a cyclist and played football in the ’30s for Bayswater, The Basin and Ferntree Gully football clubs.
When a hole in the heart put an end to his on-ground football career, Mr Byers just shifted gear a notch and became a trainer with both the Woori Yallock and Warburton clubs.
His reputation as someone who was good for the long haul was proven through his involvement with the CFA, St John Ambulance and the Masonic Lodge. He served more than 60 years in each.
Mr Byers was also involved in Scouts, in the Presbyterian Church, and later in life with the Warburton Senior Citizen’s Club and Warburton RSL’s Lyrebird Club.
As lieutenant with the Warburton Urban Fire Brigade his contribution ranged from competing for the brigade in the fire races to involvement in some of the area’s major fires including the 1973 Chalet guesthouse fire and the Ash Wednesday bushfires.
Retirement didn’t mean not being involved – for Mr Byers or for Mrs Byers.
“If they couldn’t be involved directly then dad would man the CFA radio and mum would be getting food ready for those who were evacuated,” Peter said.
“Dad was part of St. John’s Rescue before it became the SES and involved with search and rescue operations on Mount Donna Buang and at Noojee.”
Dennis Reeves, secretary of Warburton RSL where Mr Byers was an affiliate member, was just a boy when he trained for St John Ambulance under Mr Byers’ expert instruction.
He said Mr Byers, like many others, served the country well in wartime, with his work growing crops declared an essential service that was needed to keep the nation running.
Mr Archer said that like any good father, Mr Byers passed on the best things to his children.
“Many of his loves and good qualities live on in his children who between them have a love of the outdoors and serve in the community,” he said.
Pondering how best to sum up Mr Byers, Mr Archer said “bubbly” and “cheeky” were words that came to mind.
“Not one to get angry; he loved life, he loved the bush, he loved the community and he loved his family, particularly his children and grandchildren,” he said.
He quipped that though Mr Byers had lost his hair at the age of 23, he seemed to grow younger in his later years … and, he said, there were photos to prove it!
“He lived to 92 and for most of that time he was very able,” Mr Archer said.
Mr Byers took his last trip aboard a veteran fire truck and was farewelled with respect and affection by a guard of honour of CFA and St John Ambulance members led by a lone piper.
He is survived by Peter and Rodney and grandchildren Taylar, Jai, Jak and Jamaica.
