“You could be remembered for five minutes, or you could be remembered for a lifetime.”
Those were the words Gus Underwood chose before the Ky Bombers thirds team took to the field for the 1985 grand final against Seymour.
The words “remembered for a lifetime” rung true once again 40 years later on Saturday March 1, when nearly 200 people who know and respect Gus crowded the Garry Lyon function room at the Wilf Cox Pavilion to celebrate the Kyabram sporting legend.
Sporting stars of the likes of Richmond’s four-time premiership footballer Dick Clay, Melbourne FC’s leading goal kicker for 1969 and 1970 Ross Dillon, and Australian Test cricketer Jim Higgs – all of which had their start in Kyabram – returned to share stories of times with Gus.
But not before Ian Purdy, a former editor of the Free Press and long-time friend of Gus, read out a never-ending list of Gus’ achievements – each more impressive than the previous.
His journey from captaining the high school team to a premiership in 1960 led to coaching success, guiding the Kyabram thirds team to two flags, two runner-up finishes, and two third places in just eight years.
He is a life member of the Goulburn Valley League, Kyabram Football Netball Club, Kyabram Trotting Club, Kyabram Cricket Club, and Kyabram District Cricket Association, and is a Hall of Famer for the GVL and Victorian Country Cricket League.
He was the Campaspe Shire and Rotary Club sportsperson of the year in 2002 and received an Australian Medal for his services to country cricket by John Howard.
In 2024, he had the press box at the Wilf Cox Reserve named after him and also has the C-Grade Campaspe cricket competition named after him.
He was a secretary of the Kyabram Trotting Club for 20 years and received a Distinguished Service Medal for his services to the sport.
But, no matter how many contributions Gus has made to both Kyabram and sporting communities across the Goulburn Valley, to his inner circle he is just known as a good friend.
Friends of Gus including Noel Langley, Peter Raglus, Chris Salter, Don Kilgour and David Farrar all spoke about memories spent taking trips to Pooncarie, tales of Gus’ poor camp cooking skills, and positive impact he has had in their lives.
“In Australia, we have two words you can use to a fella that will say everything about him,” Mr Langley said.
“The two words are ‘good bloke.’”
After the guest speakers concluded and the roast dinner settled, Gus sat down with fellow former Free Press journalist Brian Meldrum for a live interview, sharing insights from his over 60-year career serving the community through the Free Press.
Gus shared anecdotes of his writing and where his philosophy for writing positively comes from.
He also recalled memories of the April Fools jokes he would pull on readers, and shared who he believed was the best sports people in the Goulburn Valley - the answer was Jeff Cooper and Paul Newman for all who are curious.
Mr Meldrum spoke for us all when he said “understated” was a word that would never properly reflect what Gus has done for the community.
“We all here would have loved to achieve half those things that you have done,” he said.
“You are very much loved, not just in Ky, but across the whole Goulburn Valley, and what you’ve done for the sport in 55 to 60 years is quite incredible.”