On Sunday June the 10^th the Club lost one of its "quiet achievers" when Geoff Barton died as a result of a collision. Geoff had joined the MTCV in June 1999 and, although active in the Club, there was much about this man that we did not know.

He was a true gentleman who didn’t say much and got along with most people. He felt actions spoke louder than words but even to those that knew him, it was still a surprise to hear what he had been up to over the years when his list of achievements was read out at the funeral. Apart from our Club he also belonged to the Ulysses Motorcycle Club (Shearwater Group), the BMW Motorcycle Club and the BMW Car Club. With all these other activities and running his dairy farm down in the South Gippsland town of Poowong, one would expect little participation in our Club. But no, Geoff still found time to ride with us to such an extent that he came 9^th in the points tally for our annual "Club Participant of the Year" award.

But this is not surprising because Geoff was very passionate about his motorcycling. Why else would he, at 60 years of age retire the BMW in favor of a late model ZX7! The Kawasaki was used predominately for Touring Club rides ("the hoons") and the BM allocated for two-up long distance rides and Ulysses Club rides. He and wife Marge had only recently attended the Ulysses AGM in Queensland, which encompassed a 5000 km round trip! In fact we learnt from the eulogy that Geoff was very passionate about most things that interest him.

In his younger days, when he lived in Melbourne he started work as a technician in the PMG (Telecom). He also enjoyed competitive swimming, which led him to become a Lifesaver. He was an accomplished sailor; representing Victoria on a national level and also crewing boats in the Sydney to Hobart yatch races. He also loved football notably Collingwood and Essendon. Not content to just watch he also played and later captained and coached Leongatha.

The "other half" was Marge who he married in 1960. She was a farmer’s daughter and eventually led him into the dairy industry. He began farming in 1963 and bought his first dairy farm in Poowong in 1969.

With marriage came children, 3 in fact. Mandy, Peter and Nick. (Mandy shares her father’s interest in motorcycles and she and her husband Chris have been out on a couple of rides with us.) As normal when one has children, as they grow one becomes involved with their activities. Geoff was no different, except his level of involvement. He became a scout leader who rose to "Queens Scout", he coached the girl’s basketball team, and he was on the committees of the local pony club and golf club. He helped run the local Sports Centre, the list just went on and on.

If one needed any indication of Geoff’s involvement and support in the local community, one only had to attend the funeral where between 300 and 400 people came to pay their respects. Amongst this crowd of mourners 22 members and friends represented the MTCV. The Club was also privileged in being asked to act as pall bearers.

Although Geoff was nearly 61 years of age, some would say that "he’d had a pretty good innings" but those of us that knew him would disagree and will miss him dearly. The only consolation is that he was doing what he enjoyed right up until the end! As his brother Laurie pointed out, we were not there to mourn his death but to celebrate his life. I for one am glad that I knew Geoff Barton.

Those attending: Tim Walker, Rhys Williams, Ian Payne, Ron Johnston, Martin Quinn, Ric Brabin, Theo Kalkandis, Danny Vits, Jack Youdan, Jon Riddett, Ray Walker, Bruce Saville, Derek Atkinson, Dianne Welsford, Rob Langer, Kirsten Anderson, Geoff and Val Jones, Wayne Grant, Verity Mayo, Rob Matricciani and Mandy Flower.