Mystery of the Mahogany Ship captivated journalist, writer the most

They were just a few of the many and eclectic interests that filled Pat Connelly's 84 years.

But it was his love of a good story that captivated the former The Standard journalist most.

One story in particular, the legend of the Mahogany Ship, became an enduring passion after luring him to Warrnambool.

Friends and family, including six of his eight siblings farewelled the long-serving Mahogany Ship Committee chairman at a funeral on Thursday, April 11, 2024.

He died on April 4 after a short illness, leaving behind his wife of 60 years, Dini (Everdina), and three children Brendan, Janita and Fiona.

Pat devoted more than 20 years of his retirement to the Mahogany Ship legend, writing books, numerous stories about the ancient wreck, was involved in searches and digs, and organised a public symposium on the subject.

For 18 of his 20 years on the shipwreck committee, he was chairman, only resigning his post in 2023.

Patrick Ramon Connelly was born at Mackay on February 5, 1940, the second of Reginald and Merianne Connelly's nine children.

In a eulogy delivered by his daughter Janita, his older brother Robin recalled his and Pat's childhood memories of beautiful butterflies, colourful ocean fish and a horse-drawn pie cart.

With the menace of war in 1942, the family moved from North Queensland to Sydney where the young Pat's sporting interests spanned cricket, tennis, running, rugby league, boxing, weight-lifting and swimming.

Showing an early talent for writing and poetry, Pat left school for a career in journalism, working first in Sydney, then Bathurst, Canberra and Western Australia in both radio and newspapers.

Pat and Dutch-born Dini were married in 1964 and raised three children.

In a 40-plus-year career, Pat's stories were published in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and the Australian Financial Review. He was also a published short story fiction writer, book editor and in the 1990s wrote, edited and published open-water swimming magazine, Wide Water.

In 1995 the Connellys moved from Melbourne to Warrnambool where Pat worked as a reporter and sub-editor on The Standard, and, he later wrote, "to intensify my research into the mystery of the Mahogany Ship."

The shipwreck mystery enthralled the keen historian for more than four decades. After retiring in 2002, Pat devoted much of his time to the subject, in 2022 publishing The Tamar Opportunists. Mahogany Ship Mysteries and the Port Fairy Adventurers, a book he co-wrote with Port Fairy historian Marten Syme.