Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with a heavy heart that I rise today to speak about a charity event that was recently held in my electorate. The Bob Prenter Classic Corporate Golf Day is held every year in Macarthur, in memory of Bob Prenter, the former President of the Campbelltown Monarch Blues Football Club, who, tragically, died in a motor vehicle accident at Christmas in 2002. Bob was my best mate. We grew up together in Holsworthy and played AFL for the Holsworthy Anzacs Junior Aussie Rules Club and Southern Districts Football Club. Bob later became the president of the Campbelltown Monarch Blues Football Club when I was the captain-coach. The Bob Prenter Reserve near Monarch Oval at Macquarie Fields was named so in his honour after his death.

Bob was a great man and a great ambassador for junior sport in the Macarthur region. The annual charity golf day carries on his legacy, raising money for the Campbelltown Australian Rules Football Club, which utilises the funds to help develop local juniors. The guest speaker this year was world champion boxer Daniel Geale. Now in its ninth year, this is the club's major fundraising event. The overwhelming support from local businesses and residents in my community every year is a testament to Bob and his dedication to sport in Macarthur. It also shows that there is ongoing support for his lovely wife, Sharon, and their children Shannon, Ashley and Hayley.

Bob's death was a great shock to us all and a huge loss to the Macarthur region. He was a great man who loved his family, his AFL and the Macarthur community very much. I would like to thank everyone involved in organising and supporting this event, especially his son Shannon and club president Keiran Buckley. I hope that its success continues for many years to come. I know that if he were here today Bob would be extremely proud of the annual golf day because it raises funds to develop our next generation of Australian Rules footballers in the Campbelltown and Macarthur region and raise the profile of the sport—something he was very passionate about.