The World War II veteran played tennis and golf until he was 86 and is preparing to move house – for the first time in 55 years – aged 92.

Doheny and wife Barbara are packing up their Warrnambool home in preparation for their shift to Port Arlington, to be closer to one of their two daughters.

The seaside town they have called home since moving to Australia from the United Kingdom has played a huge role in their lives.

Sport always rated highly on Doheny’s to-do list too.

The son of a County Tipperary farmer, whose Irish heritage has followed him across the world in the form of a still-evident accent, played tennis in Warrnambool for 60 years.

“We arrived here in Australia in 1957 and I was only here a year when I got in contact with Christ Church Tennis Club,” Doheny said. 

“I went through until about six years ago. I was having problems with my shoulder.

“I used to play golf on a Saturday morning and then tennis in the afternoon.

“I was pretty fit in them days – but not anymore.”

A shoulder problem forced him off the courts and put an end to his golfing exploits too.

“I had to ease off a bit then,” he joked in reference to his belated sporting retirement.

Doheny, who served in the Royal Air Force and then worked in the occupation forces after the war, is a Christ Church Tennis Club life member.

He spent countless hours at courts which are just a hop, skip and a jump from Warrnambool’s central business district.

“There wasn’t many places in those days that had lights on the courts and we had three courts that had lights on them,” he said.

“In the summertime we used to run competitions and we’d get all these little country clubs come in and play. It was really terrific.”

Golf was another pastime the father-of-two enjoyed until his late 80s, spending as much time on the fairways as he could after taking up a military pension at 60.

“You could get four people to go away and we used to go up and play courses along the Murray River,” Doheny said.

“You’d have a whole week playing golf every day and would then go to the clubrooms at night and play cards.”

Doheny said his move to Port Arlington to be with family was bittersweet. 

“We didn’t intend leaving either – it’s a good spot, Warrnambool,” he said.

“I feel a bit sorry leaving. It’s really lovely here and they’ve got all the facilities you need – when you like sport.

“It is a really good place to live and a good place to be.”