Thomas Harkins was a great dad with a love for European football.
Photo by
Contributed
Some memories will never die and for former Cobram resident Pia Katie Holland those memories will include that of her father, Thomas Harkins.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Sadly, he passed away on Friday, May 24 in Melbourne.
For Mr Harkins, the place of his death was the opposite side of the world from where he was born and signified the end of a life lived to the full.
Born in Scotland during the Second World War, at the age of 16, like many Europeans, he left Europe to start a new life in Australia.
He was taken in by the Gorman farming family in Tocumwal and learnt the tricks of the family business by patriarch Brian.
“Brian Gorman taught dad about all things on the land,” Ms Holland said.
“He taught my father how to shear, and my father became a very good shearer.”
Mr Harkins ended up shearing with many of the local families in the area.
He was also taught how to crop, and milk cows, skills that would later influence his future life trajectory.
Like most Europeans, Mr Harkins had a passion for football, or what Aussies would call soccer, and he played for Cobram as a midfielder in the 50s.
Thomas Harkins with his sister Bertha Harkins in Scotland.
Photo by
Contributed
He also dabbled in golf and, according to Ms Holland, he loved an afternoon on the greens.
Mr Harkins would eventually buy up his own property, a wheat and dairy farm in Lalalty, just outside Barooga, and met a local Cobram girl by the name of Fay Cleave.
“My dad met my mother through dances, the old fashion way,” Ms Holland said.
The couple married at St Joseph’s Church in Cobram in 1960 and would go on to have three children, Andrea, Craig and Pia.
Ms Holland said she loved the way her father would combine his work as a farmer and his love for football.
“My strongest memory of my dad is going into our dairy when he was milking the cows and seeing him with a soccer ball, balancing it and kicking it,” she said.
“He would try and teach us kids tricks while milking the cows in his gumboots.”
For his family, Mr Harkins was the embodiment of a free spirited, hard-working and loving father.
Asked what she took from her father’s life story, Ms Hollland said it was his efforts to begin a new life from scratch.
“He was an immigrant success story,” she said.
Mr Harkins funeral will be held at St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Cobram on Wednesday, June 5 at 11am.
13°C