THE SAD PASSING OF COLIN PATTINSON.

8th September 1946 to 24th March 2008.

Describe the man. Fighter, courageous, and inspirational. The first person you would pick to be beside you in the trenches.
I can just see Colin confronting the big fella at the pearly gates, and you guessed it, Col asks him for 10% discount off the price of admission. For you folk who don’t know, whenever Colin led a 4wd trip and our convoy of vehicles pulled into a service station, bakery or such, the first thing he asked the hapless shopkeeper was 10% discount for us all.

Colin was also known for his eyesight or lack of it. Many times we had a good chuckle as Col went crook about trees and stumps jumping out in front of him, and if you looked at his vehicle the passengers side was always heavily scratched, as he had a tendency to keep well to his left. On one trip out of Coolgardie, Pat and I were behind Col, and with the dense scrub, Col kept hitting the trees on his left, as a result Pat had to keep retrieving his shovel which was attached to the left side of the Patrol.

One good laugh was when Colin staked a tyre, and as most of us know Col never used the hand brake, Ross Duncan raced up to plug the gaping hole for him, with Col out of the vehicle, Ross pulled the h/brake on and repaired the tyre. A few minutes after moving on Colin called over the 2 way radio if anyone could tell him what a certain red light on the dash meant, the reply was let your handbrake off you dill.

On my first trip with Col a funny noise was coming from the motor, I called over the 2 way to Col about it, HIS reply was to turn the music up.
Another favourite of Col’s was he was never lost if he took a wrong track when running a trip, he simply told everyone to back up as a huge log was across the track.

Two years ago at the really muddy mud gymkhana, Colin was having a fit as young grandson Blake had just muddied up his 5th and last set of clothes, Col was heard mumbling that instead of 5 changes of clothes he should have brought 55, as we still had a day and night to go. Young Blake certainly enjoyed his trips with his granddad, Blake was always welcome at anyone’s camp.

Colin joined the 4wd Club of WA in 1999, immediately becoming involved in all aspects of the club. He won numerous awards, and was a valued member of the trips committee. Colin was inspirational in organizing many Australia day cleanups, as well as other days doing cleanups for CALM at Red Hill, Lancelin, Wilbinga, Moore River and Jurien Bay. He conducted the gathering of fines at our meetings as the sergeant-at-arms, with the money raised mostly going to his beloved Cancer Support Group.
Colin was one of those people that could fit in with anyone or any group, even though at times, his no nonsense attitude rubbed some the wrong way.

One remark he made to Dean Phillips sticks in my mind, when Dean congratulated him on the number of trips he was doing at the time, Colin said I have such a lot to do in such little time. I thought that remark said a lot about the man. Colin’s trips were always called “Great to be alive”.

Colin, as sick as he was, fulfilled his dream of going to Antarctica, Nimibia, and Switzerland.

Colin in my opinion was far and away the best, and most liked member in my time at the club, as shown by the large number who turned up at John and Margaret Fernie’s farm for his 60th b/day and living wake. It was repeated again for his 61st b/day last year, even though at the time he was quite ill.

My parting words to Col at the hospital on Good Friday were, if I am ever in the same position as him, I hope that I can display half the guts that he has shown us over the last 8 years.

So long COLIN, you will be greatly missed by the members of this great club.
To Colin’s mum, Ada and her family, Pat and I will always remember a true friend.
Finally to pinch a few words of a song sung by Troy Casser-Daly, "They don’t make em like that anymore."
 

Eulogy to Colin Pattinson. (by Bob Anstiss)