Brett Whiteley (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this morning to inform the House of the sad passing of not only a great Tasmanian but the Mayor of the West Coast Council, Mr Darryl Mervyn Robert Gerrity. Darryl was a true champion of the West Coast of Tasmania and sadly passed away on 28 September after battling a short but very aggressive illness. Born in the West Coast mining town of Queenstown on 5 May 1943, Darryl started a career in the mines with an electrical apprenticeship in 1963. Working in the mines may not have been a career highlight for Darryl as he recently stated that he worked there for exactly five years and three seconds. Darryl spent some years in Melbourne where he started his own electrical and solar heating business, later working for the Victorian Solar Energy Council. In 1986 Darryl returned to the West Coast with his wife, Robyn and young son, Sam. Twins Kelly and Sean later followed, making them the first babies to be born at the remote Strahan hospital in 40 years.

Darryl's time with the Victorian Solar Energy Council developed his interest in politics, and he joined the Strahan council in 1989. This jack-of-all-trades took on many a role and could be found working in the abattoir, laying pavements, meter reading, and even grave digging. A long-time Tasports worker, the renowned chain smoker was never backward in coming forward when he needed to stand up for what he believed. When the West Coast Council was amalgamated in 1993, Darryl became a councillor, and in 2000 he was elected Mayor of the West Coast Council—a position he retained until his passing.

It is fair to say that Darryl Gerrity was a passionate man, a man who fought hard for his community and the people in it. He lobbied hard for zone allowances and tax breaks for miners to move to and live on the West Coast of Tasmania so that he could keep the community alive by stopping services such as education and health from being lost. Darryl was instrumental in the fight to move the West Coast from the Lyons electorate to my electorate of Braddon—a move that saw the region expand, with Darryl leading the council away from financial despair and into prosperity. Most recently, Darryl fought hard to save the West Coast Wilderness Railway from closure, saving 29 much-needed jobs. The voice of the West Coast will not be lost, as Darryl's wife and fellow councillor Mrs Robyn Gerrity has recently been elected to the position of Mayor of the West Coast Council. Alderman Gerrity's election is undoubtedly bittersweet after the passing of Darryl, but it is comforting to know that the residents of the West Coast have great confidence in her representing them in local government.

Darryl's passing is a sad loss for his family, the West Coast, the electorate of Braddon and the greater Tasmanian community. This quick-witted larrikin who did not suffer fools gladly will forever be remembered for his ability to talk to anyone and his dislike of pen-pushers, as an icon of the West Coast of Tasmania, and as a man with a voice that was heard until the very end.