General News
21 July, 2024
Master storyteller always called Warrack 'home'
Robert Francis Barfus was born in Nyah West on November 29 1936 to parents Frank and Irene (nee Haeusler), and though he was born in the Mallee, he was known as a self made man of the Wimmera.
Mr Barfus was well known in many circles, having served 40 years in local government and seven years as the chief executive of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV).
He passed away on May 15 2023 from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, aged 86.
Mr Barfus’ daughter, Jo McCoy, shares her memories.
“One might say it’s a fair innings,” she said.
“He wouldn’t.
“He didn’t grow up on the land - he was a town kid, a “Warrack” boy - and he never received any formal qualifications, but he reached the top of his profession and gained respect wherever he went.
“Dad had a way with words, both written and spoken.
“A master storyteller, he could hold an audience in the palm of his hand, whether it was a social function for retired executives, or a room full of disgruntled ratepayers”
At a book launch in 1991, Mr Barfus said there were many people who helped shape him into the person he had become.
In particular, Syd Fell and Betty Golder, who he worked with at the Shire Offices between 1954 and 1962.
“Syd Fell was Shire Secretary, and Dad’s first boss in local government,” Ms McCoy said.
“He often lamented that the young Rob Barfus was too distracted from attaining the formal qualifications needed to progress in local government, and therefore he was never likely to get a top job.”
As Mr Barfus took his first steps into the world of local government, he also developed a love of the social life and creative outlet offered at the theatre, with the Dramatic Society, where he spent many hours, over many years, performing on stage as an actor, and behind the scenes as a director.
Mr Barfus was highly praised by newspaper editor and theatre critic Les Hicks, who reported on the play Winterset.
"Many people handed the Oscar to Robert Barfus for his interpretation of Judge Gaunt - one of the most powerful pieces in modern theatre,” Hicks’ piece read.
“The judge was a triumph for Robert.
“Congratulations.”
Later, as he reflected on his life, Mr Barfus spoke positively about his time on stage and the impact it had on his life.
“I owe much to those enjoyable years on the stage of the Warracknabeal Town Hall under the direction of a strong and creative leader, and learning to mix comfortably with a group of culturally-oriented people, allowing some rub-off of their talented skills and their outlook on life,” he said.
Ms McCoy said that her father and Mr Fell both agreed that the skills he developed with the dramatic Society “held him in good stead throughout his career and especially in his years in senior management; probably more than any piece of paper might have done.”
“Dad loved it,” she said.
“He drew on all of his years of experience when, as CEO of the MAV, he travelled all over the state with the MAV president, the late George Bennett of Nhill.”
Mr Barfus and Mr Bennett took on a proactive approach to the state government’s proposed amalgamation of councils in the 1990s, addressing the concerns of local councils and working to promote the inevitable change in a more positive light.
“Dad left Warracknabeal as a young man,” Ms McCoy said.
“But he came back often, especially to visit his beloved Uncle Eddie and Auntie Dot (nee Haeusler).
“All of his stories about Warrack were coloured with love and nostalgia.
“Dad and his siblings, John (dec.) and Gwenda bought pavers that sit outside the Palace Hotel, literally cementing their place in the town, and reflecting a heartfelt truth that Warracknabeal was home.”