By Romy Stephens
As renowned Warburton figure Dick Leith glances out the window of the Warburton Golf Club (WGC) he recalls many tough, yet wonderful years.
“I finished up a life member at the club and so did my wife, because of the work we’ve done around the club,” he said.
“We were very involved in the running of the club because it was battling all the time.”
The 95-year-old has now been intrinsically connected to WGC for almost 70 years.
In that time he has not only left his mark on the club but also helped shape the entire community of Warburton into what it is today.
Dick was born in Warburton in 1924 and his family lived in the area since 1904.
After returning from the airforce at the end of WW2 he started carting timber in the region.
In 1955 he began logging and continued until the mid ‘80s.
Dick first decided to join WGC as a permanent member after finishing up at Warburton Football Club.
Not long after he joined the committee and his wife, June, also got involved.
One of the most pivotal moments in the club’s history was during the mid-1970s when three men, Dick included, decided to purchase the golf club from brothers Peter and Malcolm Walker.
Dick risked his own home to go as guarantor for a club that was already struggling financially.
Despite the struggles, it was those years of hardship that saw the picturesque Warburton course become the beautiful stretch of green it is today.
Dick worked alongside his brother Graham and a group of other men to clear dense bush surrounding the club with their logging machinery.
This effort saw the course transform from nine holes to a vast 18 hole course, stretched over scenic and undulating grounds.
Dick said one of the fondest memories he’s had was seeing how much effort members put into the club over the years.
“Going back in our heyday we had a lot of ladies, we had 60 or 70 ladies playing here,” he recalled.
“We didn’t have a practice green out there, it came up in committee that we wanted a practice green.
“So the ladies, they just said we’ll raise the money for that because the club was also battling for money.
“In no time at all they had enough money to put that practice green in. That’s a nice feature of the club, it’s nice to look at.”
Dick has also been an active member of the Warburton community over the years.
He is a life member of the Warburton Football Club and helped build the local swimming pool.
He was also involved in the local primary school committee, the local scouts and more recently was instrumental in the establishment of the Warburton Community Bank.
“The thing I’m proud of most is I was on the instigative committee for the Community Bank,” Dick said.
“Without the Community Bank Warburton would be dire straits.”
Nowadays, Dick is still involved in WGC despite not playing anymore.
He heads down every Tuesday and helps the garden club prune trees, spread mulch and do labour-intensive tasks that would be a tough mornings work for anyone half his age.
He also still attends most of the club’s annual events as the oldest living life member.
“The club means a lot to me. I’ve put a lot of money into it but I’m not worried about that because I’ve got a hell of a lot out of it,” Dick said.
“It’s been a second home really. Once the kids all grew up, we gravitated here.
“You very seldom meet someone you can’t get on with at a golf club. These people, they’re wonderful people.”
But it’s not just Dick’s love for the club that shines through when exploring his story.
Speaking to those involved in the club provides insight into how important Dick is for the community with numerous members agreeing that “he doesn’t realise how much he means to the club.”
