Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to pay tribute to the late David Martin, a friend of mine and a great servant of the local community in Casey, who died earlier this year. David was born in New Zealand in 1938. He was one of nine children, and he came to Australia in the early 1950s when his family returned to Melbourne. After schooling he commenced working with a steamship company but quickly progressed to work in accounting. In 1961 he suffered a tragic injury in a car accident, being left a paraplegic in his early 20s at a time when he was a star hockey player. After a lengthy period in hospital he took the bold step of establishing himself as a retailer in Croydon, in the outer suburbs of Melbourne in the electorate of Casey. He then went on to establish a local newspaper, which he ran for a short period of time, and then went on to perform a wonderful role in local government and in many volunteer organisations, which typified his approach to life, his guts and his absolute determination that his disability would not hold him back from contributing to the community and from living life to the full.

He was a founding member and a life member of the Croydon hockey club. He was elected as a councillor for the City of Croydon in 1972 and served for many years. He was elected mayor in 1975 and again in 1986. He was also a man of great faith; he had a very strong belief in God, and that was what gave him his strength and determination. He was a regular churchgoer, attending St John the Divine Anglican Church at Croydon, where he was involved with the parish council, including 10 years as treasurer. He did great volunteer work for many other churches. He was also a long-time member of the Liberal Party and did much to assist the state and federal branches of the Liberal Party, and it was through that that I met him as a candidate and then as a member. He served the community as justice of the peace for 30 years until his death, receiving recognition for his work there. A local Rotarian as well, he received a Shine On Award in 2004, recognising outstanding service by people with disabilities, and he was also named a Paul Harris Fellow in appreciation for his community work. David will be remembered by many hundreds of people in the Croydon area for his quiet but substantial achievements. He was not someone who enjoyed recognition or notoriety, but he was someone who made a wonderful contribution to his community.