PLAYING in two premierships with Port Fairy in the old Port Fairy and District Football League in 1960 and 1963 before having a couple of seasons with Camberwell paved the way for Pat Dwyer to train with Carlton.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dwyer, who passed away last Wednesday, took up the offer to train with the Blues and fondly remembered training with Carlton legends Ron Barassi, John Nicholls and Sergio Silvangi.
He came back and played football at Grassmere for two years with one of his highlights winning the club's best and fairest.
His daughter Natasha said Pat was one of nine children raised at the family farm at Rosebrook outside of Port Fairy by his parents Joe and Kathleen.
"Dad was educated at St Patrick's Primary School in Port Fairy before going to the Christian Brothers College in Warrnambool, at the age of 15 he left school to pursue an electrical apprenticeship with Les James and then Pat Lane," she said.
"Dad went and worked as a volunteer at the Catholic Mission at Milne Bay in New Guinea from 1969 to 1971.
"He did a lot of the electrical work at the school and the buildings. He was delighted to go back to Milne Bay in 2011 with my brother Matthew to see the work he had done was still working.
"Dad had a great compassion and understanding for people and was always there to offer support and advice to people at all levels. He was a former president and vice-president of the Warrnambool Legacy Club and loved assisting people in that role."
Natasha said her family was very thankful for the support it had received from Pat's doctors, Warrnambool Palliative Care, the district nurses and his cousin Gerard Dwyer during his illness.
Mr Dwyer is survived by his wife of 47 years Shirley and their children Selina, Natasha, Joanne, Matthew and their families.
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.