In the early hours of September 8, as a storm front rolled in over Shepparton and the skies opened up, word began to spread that Dave Hardie was no longer among us.
The drenching Shepparton received for the remainder of the day captured poignantly the mood of the wider bowling ― and sporting ― community as we all came to terms with the fact that one of region’s great characters would not be again regaling us with tall tales, or passing on astute wisdom, this summer.
Hardie was not only a doyen of the Goulburn Valley bowling community, but also a life member and long-time volunteer of Lemnos Football Club ― now of course, the Shepparton Swans.
Shepparton Park Bowls Club will host a service to celebrate Hardie’s life at its Kialla base on Monday, September 19 at 1pm.
A private cremation will follow.
The News sports desk felt that a fitting tribute for Hardie, who will be dearly missed in this office, would be to share some of our favourite photos of him along the journey.