Deni paper boy and roofer to beloved Sydney ‘garbo’

Friend of 65 years Paul Bouchier gave the eulogy at his October 7 funeral, and regaled attendees with stories of their lives together in Deniliquin.

‘‘Tommy and I are Deni boys, both 1947 varieties and both from post-war battling families,’’ Paul said.

‘‘We didn’t have much, like many other families in that time, but our families did their best for us. 

‘‘We were the originals from the fibro houses but what we had was open space, all top sporting facilities, lawn tennis courts as good as anywhere, turf cricket wickets better than the MCG, and we had freedom, and, of course, the Edward River which we frequented most of the year. 

‘‘It was a great community and still is. A great place to grow up and we absorbed it all from dawn to dusk.

‘‘Tom lost his father at a young age, but he had a close-knit family that socialised with us. The patriarch of the family was Roy Hall, his grandfather and a Gallipoli veteran, who was a great orator and who would recite the classics. 

‘‘I remember the Coleridge classic Kubla Khan very well. 

‘‘There was Tom’s mother Vera, his sister Margaret, and his older brother Bill. Bill was a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky friend who worked with my father Jim for several years. They were of kindred spirit and we often wondered who led who astray.’’

As youngsters, Tom and Paul were paperboys, earning 25 shillings a week on a six day route.

‘‘I commented to Tom recently, I couldn’t work out why I was often short of a few Herald Sun’s at the end of my run,’’ Paul said.

‘‘I was always careful of the count under the watchful eye of the newsagent, and if short, it could be a double-up trip of several miles back to the paper shop to finish the run.

‘‘Tom confessed to me he used to knick a few papers off of each pile whilst we were reading a comic and waiting for some daylight. 

‘‘Tom’s run was on the south side and he had developed a business on the side, selling papers to patients in the Deni hospital, and beating a local supplier of custom. The entrepreneur in Tom was born.’’

Tom went on to became a roofing apprentice with Barnett Brothers as a young man, and worked on the early stages of the famous Deniliquin rice mills.

‘‘In our teenage years, we linked up and were in the 1963 winning premiership third 18 side of the Murry League competition,’’ Mr Bouchier said.

‘‘Tom didn’t play much footy after that because of developing arthritis. 

‘‘He was a clever basketballer (captain/coach) and he mentored junior players. He turned his attention to AFL umpiring and became a prominent umpire in the tough Sydney competition.’’

Tom was was also a lifelong Essendon Bombers fan.

It was in 1971 that Tom decided to make the move to Sydney.

‘‘He was a very proficient driver of all vehicles and for many years drove taxi trucks around the CBD, learning every nook and cranny of the expanding city,’’ Paul said.

‘‘Late in the 1970s, Tom was on the move again and I suggested he should strike out by himself as I had just done with my own business.

Things were a bit tight, we both had mortgages and young families.

‘‘The truck I bought was rough, but Tom turned up with a 4.5 tonne Austin Tipper and it was something else. He was the only person that could drive it. 

‘‘It took me five minutes to get into the tiny cab and you needed the strength of Arnold Schwarzenegger to steer it. Tom hauled rubbish and builders’ waste for many years, he was a tireless worker with great stamina. The loads he carried on that truck were legendary. 

‘‘Tom knew his truck was about loaded when he would lift power lines with a piece of 4x2 to squeeze more waste on top of the load. 

‘‘When he scrapped that truck years later, I told him he should have it bronzed and put in a museum. And that’s how it all began.’’

Tom founded the Wescon Group in Sydney, and devoted 25 years to keeping harbour beaches and reserves pristine.

His son Stuart told the Mosman Collective that while a taste of life in ‘‘the big smoke”, he did not find himself a ‘‘boring office job in the city’’.

‘‘He became a garbo — and it turned out to be the best decision he ever made,’’ Stuart said.

‘‘He loved being a garbo so much; he started his own company.’’

Tom’s connection to the lower north shore began in 1996 when council awarded Wescon with the contract for cleaning local beaches and reserves.

It was the start of a long-standing love affair with the local area.

‘‘Dad travelled around the world with Mum and went on heaps of cruises, but his heart never really left Balmoral,’’ Stuart said.

‘‘Every single morning, he’d have his coffee on the jetty and then get back into the truck and tell me how bloody lucky he was.

‘‘Keeping the beaches clean and tidy was his obsession, along with the Essendon Football Club, horse racing and having a beer with his mates!’’

A highlight of Tom’s career was being recognised by the Keep Australia Beautiful organisation in the 1980s, after Balmoral was nominated as one of the cleanest beaches in NSW.

In an interview with the Mosman Daily, judges said, ‘‘Tidy Tom Wescon’’ had provided exemplary public waste management, recycling, beach and reserve cleaning and management of parks and playgrounds.

‘‘It’s nice to get a pat on the back,” Tom said at the time.

‘‘The garbos don’t get a day off, and we are here at Balmoral at 6am every morning.

‘‘We are obviously busier in the summer than the winter, but the local people are very helpful and take an interest in what we are trying to achieve.’’

When Tom’s son Stuart took over the family business a few years ago, he said he was “gobsmacked” by the scores of residents who knew his father.

‘‘Dad made a lot of friends in Mosman — and as a result, I’m blessed with the same wonderful friendships,’’ Stuart said.

‘‘Our family wants to thank the residents who’ve sent their condolences and flowers to my mum. She is just devastated by the loss.’’

Paul said he was glad to have been reunited with Tom in Deniliquin before his death, when Tom made the pilgrimage home to see old mates earlier this year.

Paul described his friend as a ‘‘no-frills, no nonsense person’’ who was incredibly proud of his slice of the world, and full of love and appreciation for his family.

‘‘In recent years Tom had taken lesser involvement in the business, but he would still enjoy his early morning drive to Balmoral beach for coffee and a chat with the locals,’’ Paul said.

‘‘There was no record of academia hanging on Tom’s walls, but if there existed one for common sense, nouse and wisdom, Tom would have a PhD.’’

Tom leaves behind his loving wife Wendy, children David, Stuart and Elizabeth and eight grandchildren.

~ with Anna Usher, Mosman Collective