Neil Davis will be remembered as football royalty, King Neptune, and a lovely, sincere person who loved his family and community.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
The Yarrawonga Mulwala, Berrigan and surrounding communities are in shock and are mourning the sad passing of a favourite son, Neil Ernest Davis who passed away last Saturday night.
A funeral service was being held at St Cuthbert’s Anglican Church Yarrawonga at 1.00pm Wednesday as this week’s Yarrawonga Chronicle was going to print.
With COVID-19 restrictions in place regarding numbers allowed to attend the funeral, sporting guards of honour will instead have formed outside the church to acknowledge what a great man Neil was.
The most respected and most popular man known as ‘Davo’, aged 69, lost his battle with health issues which began in 2008.
In that year, he was named in the Ovens and Murray Football Netball League Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to football.
“O & M royalty” was used to describe Davo by the Ovens & Murray Football & Netball League in its statement to the media which continued with: “A great and enduring servant of the Yarrawonga FNC and a 2008 HOF inductee. A kind, caring and humble man. A true gentleman. On behalf of the entire Ovens and Murray Football and Netball League, we extend our sympathies to his family and the Yarrawonga Football Netball Club. He will be missed.”
In 1971 and from 1974 to 1981, Davo played 162 senior games with Yarrawonga, captained the side in 1979 and booted a total of 238 goals including 10 in a match against Wangaratta – the most ever in a Pigeons/Magpies game - before being appointed playing coach of Mulwala in 1982 for two years and playing on for a further three years.
In 1987 and 1988, he coached Yarrawonga Thirds and in 1989 was handed the senior coaching role when the club faced an extremely challenging time.
Record serving president of Yarrawonga Football Netball Club Glenn Brear had joined the club’s committee in 1988, the year before Neil coached the Pigeons to their second premiership in 60 years in the Ovens and Murray League.
“It was the history we’d been hoping for and Neil was such a big part of it. It was our second premiership since joining the O and M league in 1929,” Glenn said.
“It was an unfortunate situation he took on. It was very tough losing our best player ‘Salty’ Parish. The appointment of Neil as senior coach and with a new match committee of five instead of three posed a huge challenge. But with John Smith and Mick Lawless, he got the club back on track and never in our wildest dreams did we think we’d win the premiership.
“It was an outstanding performance by the players but also by the club to sort out the problems beforehand.”
Davo’s outstanding coaching for the 1989 Pigeons premiership led to him being named King Neptune which was an annual street parade acknowledging the great ‘celebrity’.
Glenn continued: “Davo is the first premiership coach to have passed away and it’s very sad. He was a great fellow to promote his hometown of Berrigan, with great affection, then when he came to Yarrawonga he did likewise.
“From 2008 unfortunately he had the illness and it upset him he couldn’t continue working at the factory but that didn’t stop him following the netball with his daughters and following the football so keenly,” the 18-year-term president said.
“He was a lovely person – wouldn’t have an enemy in the world. He was terrific with opposition players and teammates. A dedicated factory worker, strong in the march across the bridge to help save the munitions factory in Mulwala. The town’s going to be the poorer.”
Yarrawonga netball legend Tracy Gillies spoke so highly of both Neil and Raelene as parents and supporters of their four daughters Rebecca, Sarah, Kristy and Laura who played through the grades to be star A-Grade players.
“Neil and Raelene were such unassuming people,” the dual premiership coach, league captain of the 25-year netball team and Hall of Famer said.
“Neil would come up to you and say a few words of support. When Davo spoke you listened, he never wanted attention on himself.”
Tracy’s dad, Jon Coleman, said Davo provided great assistance to the Yarrawonga Tennis Club. “He helped out with junior tennis of a Saturday morning and every Easter he was around for the working bees,” the 11-time club champion and highly rated coach said.
“He was one of the first down there every morning scraping the dew off the damp courts.
“Davo also played in the Tuesday night tennis team and enjoyed refreshments during or at the end of the matches. He was always one to help the club.”
During his football time at Mulwala, Davo played cricket with Mulwala Footballers Cricket Club.
“The word ‘champion’ gets overused. But a genuine champion succumbed to a long illness recently, Neil Davis,” dual cricket premiership captain with Mulwala Footballers, Greg Stephenson, said.
“I had the pleasure of working at the factory with Davo, was involved with him on the selection panel at Mulwala Football Club when he coached and played cricket with and against him.
“He was passionate, he was loyal and he was a great teammate and friend. I remember when he was appointed coach of Mulwala Football Club, he approached me to see about him coming to play cricket with Mul Footballers. He thought it was the right thing to do seeing he was to coach the footy club. A genuine and great person.”
Before and after Mulwala Footballers, Davo played cricket for Yarrawonga Footballers, and was more than a handy batsman according to Yarrawonga District Cricket Association’s Team of the Century captain Ray Irvine who recalled a day out at Wilby.
“My brother John dropped him on a duck and 130 runs later we got him out – he smashed us all over the ground, before tea!” the champion left-hand batsman said.
Robert (Defa) Hamson worked in the same maintenance department as Davo for the best part of 40 years.
“I remember the first words I heard about Davo,” Defa, a retired foreman, said. “My auntie had told my mother that there’s this young bloke from Berrigan coming across to work at the factory and to look after him. She said he comes from a lovely family, he’s a great sportsman and quiet. Quiet? I told mum to tell my auntie she’s got the wrong bloke!”
“But Davo was very dedicated, well liked and went from trainee technical officer to a senior technical officer.”
Retired engineering manager Peter Henderson said Davo had the ability to work with all people, from outside factory contractors to inside personnel.
“I never heard anyone say a bad word about him,” Peter said. “He always achieved what he wanted to achieve. He was a very easy person to manage. I didn’t need to – he managed himself. Davo played in a big hand in the Save Our Factory. He’d hold meetings in his office towards having 7,000 people march over the bridge.”
Well-known local identity Robert Purtle OAM has lost “my best mate”. “I’m devastated,” ‘Possum’ said. Davo had a heart as big as an elephant. You never heard him say a bad word about anyone. He was one of the greatest blokes I’ve ever met.”
Emphasising the word ‘sincere’ Possum, who was keenly sought by Davo to help with the bridge march, added: “Davo was a sincere, sincere man. He was loved by all in every organization he went into.”
In this week’s classifieds in the Yarrawonga Chronicle, Yarrawonga Football Netball Club has passed on its condolences to the Davisfamily.
In a separate statement, the club has added: “Neil, an Ovens and Murray Hall of Fame member and Pigeon legend, will be sadly missed but fondly remembered. Not only a player, coach, committee member and mentor Neil was a one of the foundations of the modern day YFNC: a man capable of bringing people together even in the most challenging of circumstances.“Seeing the pride of Neil and Raelene Davis watching their four daughters: Rebecca, Sarah, Kristy and Laura on the hill at Lavington on those Sundays in late September reminds us all why football/netball clubs form such an integral part of our community.”
Journalist