By Jared Loughnan and Arthur German
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The small town of Katamatite has spawned its share of sporting heroes over many years, including VFL/AFL footballers and even a Stawell Gift winner. But many believe the best sporting legend hands down would be the one and only Pat O’Kane.
Pat, who celebrates his 94th birthday this week, was one of nine children, six brothers and two sisters who all grew up on the family farm, now still occupied by Pat and his lovely wife Edna.
Edna, a Yarrawonga girl and a north east beauty queen, was instantly attracted to the tall handsome athlete subsequently marrying him in June of 1967. The union produced two children, a daughter, Anne Maree, and a son, Brian, both now in their fifties.
Pat was a champion tennis player who accumulated eight Victorian Country Championships and went on to play at the hallowed All England Lawn Tennis Championships, better known as Wimbledon.
Pat played most of his tennis in Yarrawonga with the like of Ian McDonald, Roy Monroe and Jack McCurdy who often travelled together as a group playing in various tennis tournaments throughout the region.
“I learnt a lot in Yarrawonga playing each weekend over the summer months. And in the winter months we would play at Dr Kennedy’s private court on Piper Street (now the location of RSL house),” Pat O’Kane told the Chronicle.
Pat was unusual in that he was an ambidextrous player, using his left hand as his backhand.
“I basically started hitting the ball on a wall as a young lad. I did not have a backhand, I just used my left and right,” he said.
“My father (Maurice O’Kane) was a keen supporter of my tennis as he saw a great Italian player who used his left and right hands.”
Pat said he recalls travelling with 17 other “Yarra fellas” to the Christmas tournaments in Euroa with great success.
“We were the best Country Week team at one stage,” he said.
“We would travel all over to play during the winter months, to places like Junee and Broken Hill.”
Pat said his sister Aileen was his best practise partner although they both never benefited from playing the game full time and were not gifted the fortune of professional coaching.
“She was more than a good tennis player. She was top eight in Australia at one stage.
“But, without the benefit of playing it all the time our weaknesses stayed weak.”But despite this Pat still went on to play at Kooyong in the Australian Championships and Forest Hills in New York, all now known as three of the Grand Slam tournaments.
He was seeded fifth in the Australian Hardcourt Championships in 1952, with two-time Wimbledon champion Lew Hoad taking out the title that year.
He defeated three times Grand Slam champion Neale Fraser, when Fraser was just 19 and again at 21 years of age, but considers his best performance was against Fraser, at the Limerick Championships in Ireland in 1958, just five days after he had finished runner up at Wimbledon where he took him to three sets, taking the second set in a marathon 11 games to 9.
Football was another sport in which Pat excelled playing at Yarrawonga with his brother Curly, where he was runner up in the club’s best and fairest twice. He then moved on to Numurkah in the Murray Football League, winning two premierships and another two with Burramine in the Benalla-Tungamah League. For Burramine Pat at one stage kicked an incredible 31 goals in three games.
“I enjoyed playing for Yarrawonga, but unlike now we were forced to leave as they only wanted to play locals. We were not picked to play one practice match, so we left.”
Pat looks back fondly at his football years, nominating his highlights as the two premierships at Numurkah and his four years at Burramine.
“Tommy Hopkins wanted me to play at Burramine, my father played at Burramine and it was enjoyable. Playing alongside some great blokes like Jimmy Clancy was fantastic.”
At one time when playing pennant tennis in the city, Pat was invited to train with Melbourne’s VFL side, and initially offered a game in the seconds, however he had to decline, as he had tennis commitments.
An opportunity lost. Had it been Collingwood he may have changed his mind!
In his youth, Peter McKenna, a champion full forward for the VFL Magpies during the 1960s and seventies, spent his summer holidays with the O’Kane family, and retains a lasting friendship. He is still a great fan of some of the Collingwood stars of yesteryear. Des Fothergill and Bobby Rose are ones he still idolises, with another favourite being full back Jack Regan, who even politely answered a letter a very young O’Kane had written to him.
Pat has an interest in many sports, including footrunning, cycling and trotting, at one time being a part owner of Murray Mack a trotter which raced with great success. He was on the Victorian Athletic League board for nine years and with 1957 Stawell Gift winner John Carr as his best man, on the day of his betrothal.
The legendary cyclist Sid Patterson was his hero in the 1940s and 50s because of his exploits, winning many world sprint championships. Even today he speaks glowingly of his magnificent performances, although through more modern technology and better training methods, his times have been obliterated.
Attending some 50 Stawell Gift meetings Pat was passionate about his footrunning and was also responsible for 1995 winner Glen Crawford to be reinstated, after being disqualified in a semi-final then going on to win the time-honoured event.
Pat has been a great contributor to his community over many years. He was installed as a life member of the Katamatite Lions Club some years ago and is still an active member. He has served as chairman of the Katamatite Primary School committee and has been a major contributor to the Cemetery Trust and at just 16 years of age became the secretary of the local Grain Elevators Board, until the wheat silo closed many years later.
A very engaging character and great raconteur, he recalls many tales about the 94 years he has spent at Katamatite and beyond, mainly from the world of sport.
Not only was Pat an outstanding sportsman, but his brother Brendan (Curly) and sister Aileen excelled in their chosen sports, sheep dog trials and tennis, with Curly winning multiple Australian sheep dog trials, and Aileen being victorious in two Victorian Country Tennis Championships.
Former Victorian National Party politician Don Kilgour who along with his twin brother Rod, have idolised Pat from when they were young where their family conducted a grocery business in the old town, had this to say when he attended Pat’s 80th birthday party.
“I met the Queen when in London, and when she asked where I came from, at first I was reluctant, as I thought she would never have heard of Katamatite, but when I told her, she asked, how is Pat O’Kane getting on?” A time-honoured yarn but most likely not too far from the truth.