Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great privilege to rise in this place this evening to pay tribute to the remarkable life of John Francis Treloar, AM, who sadly passed away on the eve of the London Games, where he had in fact participated as a young athlete in 1948, as part of a new generation who represented fresh hope for a world that had been brutalised by war. John Treloar was a great Australian. He was an Olympian, a successful businessman, a real community man from the shire and, most importantly, a loving father, grandfather and husband. His passing is a great loss to all those who knew and loved him, our shire community and our country.

It was not just John's great achievements in life that made him a great Australian champion. It was the way he lived his life, with love, honesty, integrity, passion and commitment. He was always looking to the future. Above all, John was a fine gentleman, in the true sense of the word, who set a standard that the rest of us can only hope to achieve. John was once asked about his memories of racing at the Helsinki games and he replied, 'You just go hell for bent.' It reminds me of that powerful verse from Hebrews that is equally apt about John:

Let us throw off everything that hinders and … run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

John is survived by his wife, Jan, his four children, two stepsons and 18 grandchildren. His first great-grandchild is due next month. Jan is with us tonight in the gallery, with John's four children—John, Philip, Geoffrey and Patricia—and other members of John's family. We welcome them here this evening.

At North Sydney Boys High School John excelled in his studies as well as on the track. In 1945, he held the combined high schools records for both the 100 and 200 yard sprints. At the University of Sydney, John was the star sprinter who anchored their invincible relay team and was a hardworking student of electrical and mechanical engineering. Fellow alumni and Olympian Mervyn Finlay recalled at John's memorial service at North Sydney Boys High how he 'genuinely took a personal interest in and supported every one of his team mates in their events'. 'It wasn't just congratulating fellow winners,' he said. 'That was easy. But it was comforting and supporting those who tried but did not succeed.'

London held a special significance for John, and I am sure he would have been whispering in the ears of those athletes who recently competed, particularly those from the shire. It was there at the 1948 Olympics that he represented his country aged just 20 after training in the United States. At the 1950 Empire Games in Auckland, John walked away a triple gold medallist. One of the fastest men in the world, he became the first Australian man to qualify for an Olympic hundred yard final at the Helsinki Games in 1952. It was a nail-biting finish—he was one of six runners in the final to finish within 0.1 seconds of each other.

John served as President of Athletics New South Wales and later became a life member. He was awarded the Australian Sports Medal and in 2001 was appointed to the Order of Australia. When he came home from the Helsinki games, John worked for his father's business, WJ Treloar and Sons, where he became well known for his 'finish the job' attitude. The company went public in 1962 and under his stewardship grew rapidly. John later teamed up with David Batchen to form LG Equipment, where they worked to develop the LP gas nozzle.

For all John's passions, none matched the passion he exuded for his family and his community. He raised his family in Lilli Pilli and learnt to sail in Port Hacking, though, as Geoffrey remembers, he was much more at home on land than on the water—or in the air, for that matter, as those who flew with him when he was the pilot will tell you.

John was a well-known and well-loved member of our shire community and will be sorely missed—from the crew at the Caringbah Mitre 10 who sold John the tools for his many boatshed projects; to the Sutherland District Athletics Club, which he founded; to the Burraneer Rugby Club and John's famous gridiron goal posts that I can recall from my own youth, when I used to play against Burraneer in my rugby days; to the ladies who walked the Caringbah and Woolooware Shore pools with him after he broke his collar bone; to the Cronulla men's Probus Club; and his many fellow Liberal Party members and friends from the Cook FEC.

At John's memorial service, John's brother Hugh gave thanks for his brother's life, and he did so in a prayer which I offer this evening: thanks for the gifts and athletic ability God gave to him, for the way he has touched and changed our lives and the lives of many others. In Mervyn's words, John Treloar ran 'right up to the tape'. As we farewelled John, we stood and clapped to his favourite piece of music, Strauss's Radetzky Marcha fitting celebration of a full and joyous life. My wife, Jenny, and I are deeply saddened by John's passing. He left a deep impression on both of us which we will always be grateful for and which we will always treasure. Thank you, John Treloar.